


Digimon Frontier: Spirit Synchronization

by Zoogirl3715



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Frontier
Genre: Action/Adventure, Multi, My First Fanfic, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-26 21:31:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5021248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoogirl3715/pseuds/Zoogirl3715
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new evil threatens both the digital and human world. armed with a new power, can the legendary warriors defeat the new evil and save both worlds, or will this be the end? Rated T for swearing and mild violence. There is Kouzumi Present!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> My very first story and it's about Digimon! And it about my favorite season, Digimon Frontier.  
> I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. (Damn)

_Prologue  
_

The human race has always evolved over time. Since the beginning, we have created new ways to thrive. From this we formed the first computers and technology in order to better understand our world. However this new invention had also created something that we never intended to create… a digital world! As our technology advanced, so did the Digital World with the introduction of its own inhabitants simply known as the Digimon. Even though it was made entirely out of leftover data, the Digital World and the Digimon acted almost exactly as our own, and just like our world, the Digital World started off with chaos and war.

When the Digital World was first born, countless wars broke out between the humanoid and beast Digimon. The wars raged on for centuries until the ancient being known as Lucemon appeared and brought the two tribes to peace. The peace didn't last long for soon Lucemon, corrupted by his own power and greed, turned traitor to his kind. During what was known as the dark era, Lucemon's own ancient warriors led the rebellion against him and together used their great power to seal him and his power away. However, in order to achieve victory, the warriors in turn sacrificed their own lives.

Peace flourished in the Digital World for a long time and the remaining spirits of the now Legendary Warriors were given to the new rulers of the Digital World, Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon. They ruled over the digital world together until tragedy struck and Cherubimon became corrupted by a virus and began destroying the Digital World in order to revive Lucemon. The Ancient Warriors foresaw something like this and in retaliation chose six human children to inherit their power.

These children were Takuya Kanbara (Fire), Kouji Minamoto (Light), Zoe Orimoto (Wind), J.P Shibayama (Thunder), Tommy Himi (Ice), and Kouichi Kimura (Darkness). After a long and perilous journey, the children were able to purify Cherubimon and the remaining corrupted warriors and destroyed Lucemon once and for all before returning to their lives in the human world. Peace once again reigned supreme.

Now there is a new threat looming over the Digital World and it's up to the chosen children to put a stop to it, but this time the threat concerns their own world as well. Armed with a new power can they save both worlds?


	2. A New Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new evil threatens both the digital and human world. armed with a new power, can the legendary warriors defeat the new evil and save both worlds, or will this be the end? Rated T for swearing and mild violence. There is Kouzumi Present!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the prologue is out of the way, we can get on with the real story.  
> I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. (Damn)

_A New Evil_

All is well in the digital world. Ever since the fall of Lucemon, the Digital World has worked nonstop to restore and reconstruct its fractal code. After decades in the digital time, which only is about five years in real world time, the Digital World is restored to its former glory. With the mountains, forests, and seas restored, its inhabitants resume their semi-normal lives.

Within the trees of the forest terminal lays a giant, crystal castle hidden from any and all enemies. Outside the castle, on one of the crystal balconies, a majestic and holy looking Digimon stands, gazing at the sky as though he could sense something ominous approaching. He was quite ornate looking with his shimmering silver and sapphire armor decorated with golden symbols covering it almost entirely. On his back sat eight beautiful angel wings which only made him look more royal than he already was.

_"I feel as though there isn't much time left,"_ he thought to himself as he continued his gaze.

He had called the other celestial Digimon to his castle in order to discuss his recent discoveries of the world's state. About a year ago he sensed a strange and unfamiliar presence in the Digital World. It only lasted about five minutes or so, yet it had left a disturbing feeling coursing through his veins, a dark and foreboding presence. He felt his spine shiver just thinking about it. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to walk back inside the meeting room.

_"Damn, they should've been here by now,"_ He thought angrily. Just then, as almost by pure coincidence, his most loyal follower, Sorcermon, came into the room.

"Sir, the other Celestials have just arrived," He said, bowing respectfully to his superior.

"Very good, send them in right away," replied Seraphimon.

Sorcermon bowed once more and turned back to the doorway to retrieve the guests. Soon after, the other Celestials entered the room. Ophanimon looked as beautiful as ever with her glistening light blue armor and golden, metal wings which accented her long flowing hair. Next to her stood the beast type Celestial, Cherubimon. After his mind had been poisoned by Lucemon's influence long ago, he has returned to his original holy form. His body was now covered by a mixture of white and light pink fur and with two golden bands wrapped around his long bunny like ears.

"Seraphimon, why have you called us to your castle? It is not even time for our yearly meetings," Ophanimon said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yes and why so urgently?" Cherubimon added with his own hint of worry in his deep, booming voice.

"I apologize if I wasn't able to explain myself before gathering you two," Seraphimon replied and turned his gaze back towards the balcony where he was standing before, "but you must believe me that the matter is important. It is a matter that could very well concern both our world and the human world," he stated very seriously.

Ophanimon and Cherubimon shot concerned looks at each other before looking back at their friend. Cherubimon stepped forward a little towards Seraphimon curiously.

"What do you mean Seraphimon? Shouldn't the barrier between the worlds protect us from any dangers from the human world and vice versa?" he asked.

"Yes that's true," Seraphimon replied turning back towards his friends, "but I fear the problem may involve the barrier itself. For the last few days I've noticed various data surges forming across the sky. At first they were few and far between, but they are happening more frequently now."

"Data surges?" Ophanimon questioned.

"Come look," Seraphimon said.

He turned and walked back out to the balcony. The other two Celestials followed him out to where he was standing and looked up towards the portion of the sky above the castle. A look of alarm appeared on their faces. The sky above was pulsing with a mixture of greens and blues, rivaling that of the human world's northern lights. Stranger than that was the fact that the phenomenon only was appearing above the castle, stopping right before the forest line.

"What-what is this?" Ophanimon exclaimed in a shocked voice.

"It's my belief that someone or something is trying to destroy the barrier. Whether the threat is from the Digital or human world, I cannot say," Seraphimon replied. Ophanimon and Cherubimon cast their worried looks back on Seraphimon. "However since this phenomenon has occurred I've felt this overwhelming dark presence. You've felt it too right?" he questioned.

The two looked down to the ground before Ophanimon finally spoke up, "Yes I have. It felt unfamiliar and yet familiar at the same time. Its dark presence did remind me something though," she said hesitantly, "it reminded me of…of…"

"Of Lucemon," Cherubimon finished, wincing at the very name. He could not easily forget how Lucemon made him betray his friends and wreak havoc upon the Digital World before the legendary warriors purified him of his corrupt data.

"But that's impossible! He's dead and gone!" Cherubimon angrily stated. Seraphimon simply nodded his head.

"True, but that doesn't mean that all evil in the world is gone. It just means that now a new evil has taken his place." he said.

**BOOOOOM!**

A large explosion interrupted their conversation as they ran hurriedly back inside. The crystal walls were shaking furiously and shards were falling from the ceiling, shattering on impact upon the floor.

"The castle is under attack!" Ophanimon shouted.

"Oh really, you think!" Cherubimon retorted. Ophanimon was about to snap back when a large piece of the ceiling fell about to crush her. Luckily Seraphimon was able to push her out of the way just in time.

"Thank you," She said relieved.

"No problem," He replied as he helped her up. _"Shit, I knew something like this would happen. I should've…"_ his thoughts were quickly interrupted as he soon came to revelation.

"The spirits! Quickly we must ensure the spirits safety!" he shouted with command.

They started to make their way to the spirits chamber when suddenly a large explosion blew the doors wide open launching the three Digimon back painfully. "Knock, knock," a husky voice called out from the dust cloud. The Celestials looked up to see two figures emerge, Beelzemon and LadyDevimon.

"Why are you here?! Answer me dammit!" Seraphimon demanded.

LadyDevimon simply chuckled and replied, "You sure are demanding, but that is to be expected of one of the rulers of the Digital World. If you must know, we are here because our master is here to obtain something precious."

"Yeah, so if you don't mind we would like to end this quickly," Beelzemon added with a cocky smirk, pointing his large blaster towards the three.

_"Master? Is their master the one responsible for the barrier being shattered?"_ Seraphimon inquired.

"Seraphimon," Ophanimon whispered to her companion, "go and protect the spirits, Cherubimon and I will hold off these two ingrates."

"But..."

"There's no time to argue. As you said before we must ensure the safety of the spirits, they're our only hope in the end," She replied urgently.

"Plus we don't know is these two are the only ones in the castle, now go," Cherubimon added with his own urgency. Seraphimon, though hesitant at first, quickly complied and started towards the chamber.

"You will not interfere!" Beelzemon shouted, ready to fire his weapon.

"SHINNING JAVELIN!"

"LIGHTNING BLAST!"

The two Celestials launched their attacks towards the intruders who leapt out of the way before attacking back. Seraphimon easily was able to slip through a secret passage towards the chamber as the sounds of battle faded as he made his way down the hall, hoping he wasn't too late and that his comrades would be alright.

He finally made it to a luminous looking chamber completely sealed off from the outside world. Ten crystal columns stood in a circle in the center of room, each one adorned with a bright orb. Each orb was decorated with a specific symbol respectfully showing the element of the warrior they belonged to. Out of the ten orbs, six of them were glowing brightly, the six being those that were once wielded by the chosen children. The orbs of fire, wind, ice, thunder, light, and darkness.

"So, the spirits believe it is time to call upon the digidestined once more. It's been so long, I wonder how much they've changed?" he said aloud to himself quietly, "Very well."

He turned to a circular looking gate that adorned the wall. He walked slowly up to it as he began focusing all of his energy into the palms of his hands. The energy converted itself into a bright sphere, and then Seraphimon took the sphere and placed it against the gate as a portal swirled into formation ready to be used, a portal to the human world.

"Yes, it worked," He said in full relief. His relief soon disappeared, as the surrounding walls shook violently, the intruders had made it to the chamber. "No!" He turned quickly back to the orbs. "Quickly, go and find the children!" he shouted desperately. As though the spirits sensed his urgency, the six glowing orbs began rising from their columns and in a flash went through the portal before it closed behind them. "Good luck," Seraphimon said quietly.

The timing was perfect, as a large beast Digimon crashed through the ceiling landing right on top of Seraphimon. Still weakened by his attempt of opening the portal, he was trapped. The beast's drool was dripping on the floor and his back while only the sounds of the creature's growls and snarls filled the room.

"MadLeomon you shouldn't be so rough. We wouldn't want to kill him now would we?"

A cold sounding voice entered the room. Seraphimon tilted his head to the side and spotted a figure standing in front of one of the now empty columns. He was wearing a large hooded trench coat so that his face would be unseen, but judging by his size and physical form, he was clearly human. His presence in room sent the same chills through Seraphimon's body that he felt one year ago.

"You're too late! The spirits are gone, on their way to the human world and towards the digidestined," Seraphimon stated trying hard to hide the fatigue in his voice. The man merely chuckled as though he was expecting this.

"It would appear so," he replied calmly, his voice sounded cold and dark, "however this shouldn't be a problem to my plans. After all what could mere children do," He turned his attention to the remaining spirits, the spirits of wood, water, earth, and metal. "These will do nicely," He pulled out a cube looking device from his coat pocket. Pressing a button, the device glow so brightly that Seraphimon had to turn his head slightly away. The light faded and Seraphimon turned back to see that the device had somehow contained the remaining orbs. The man shoved it back in his pocket and began to walk toward his captive.

"You shouldn't underestimate the power of the legendary warriors," Seraphimon said coldly to the figure.

The man knelt down to Seraphimon, giving him a small glimpse face. What stood out the most were his eyes, they looked just as cold and dark as his voice sounded. "I never said that the warriors were weak," he stated and stood up looking down at the holy Digimon, "but still they won't be able to stop me, and even if they try to stop me I assure you that they won't live to see the next day," He finished with his voice full of murderous intent.

"If you do any harm to them you bastard, I swear I will..."

"You'll what, stop me, heh, we will see about that."

After that statement, the man delivered a brutal kick to the side of Seraphimon's head knocking him unconscious. "Come MadLeomon, I believe we're done here." The sinister looking lion let out slight growl while picking up his victim and hurled him across the room where he slammed against the hard crystal wall. The beast followed his master loyally out the chamber.

_"So it begins. Your move legendary warriors,"_ the man thought, smiling sinisterly as he did.


	3. Normal Life

_Normal Life_

"Takuya, hurry up or you'll be late!" Takuya's mother yelled up the stairs.

"Don't worry I'll make it!" her son yelled back.

It was a clear Monday morning as the former warrior of fire, Takuya Kanbara, was getting ready for yet another boring day of high school. It's been five years since he and his friends returned from their adventure in the Digital world and it definitely showed. Takuya had reached a height of 5'7", his brown hair still looked a bit messy and unkempt, but that was probably due to the fact he no longer wore a hat to hide it. He face resembled his new-found maturity, but still he could be described as a goofball especially by his friends. He was wearing his school uniform, a white button up shirt with a black, unbuttoned jacket over it and black pants to match. He rushed out of his room; he had forgotten to set his clock last night for school. Before he left he remembered to grab his trademark goggles which he had originally taken to the Digital World. Even though they were against school regulation, he still liked to keep them nearby as just a reminder of his adventure and all the friends he had made in the Digital World, also he thinks they're some kind of lucky charm. He hurried down the stairs into the kitchen, stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth before grabbing his car keys and heading out the door.

He soon made it to the parking lot of the Shibuya School Grounds. The campus itself covers well over twenty acres with the middle school taking the east area and the high school taking the west area with only a courtyard separating the two. He stepped out of his car and saw the brothers yin and yang themselves, Kouji the former warrior of light and Kouichi the former warrior of darkness.

"Look who's finally here," Kouichi stated quite sarcastically when saw Takuya heading towards them.

"Bout time," Kouji added with his own sarcasm.

"Yeah, sorry," Takuya replied back, "I forgot to set my alarm; my mom practically had to drag me out of bed."

"Hehe, not surprising. I bet my money that you'd be later than this actually, guess I do owe you those ten bucks bro," Kouji retorted chuckling to his brother.

"Real funny, buddy," Takuya snapped back. The brothers merely chuckled at his plight.

The years were good on the brothers. Since their meeting in the Digital World, the two have grown close as a family with Kouichi reconciling with his biological father and even accepting his wife, and with Kouji developing a real connection with his own biological mother. They both had grown about to the same height as Takuya. Kouichi looked about the same, his raven hair looked a bit more bushier than when he was younger; however, unlike Takuya, his appearance was better kept. His facial features grew much sharper making him appear just as intelligent as he already was. The years affected Kouji fairly well, making him look even more handsome and popular with nearly every girl in the school. His kept his hair in the same fashion, his silky raven hair tied neatly with a pony tail in the back, and even though he wasn't wearing it now due to school rules, he would still wear his usual blue and gray bandanna. His brother felt that he should just wear his bandanna anyway since he didn't care that much about the school attire as shown by his untucked shirt and two of the top buttons being unbuttoned.

"So how long have you guys been waiting for me?" Takuya asked

"Kouji hasn't been here that long," Kouichi replied, "I actually had to wait for the hotshot here to arrive before you did" he finished pointing his thumb to his annoyed brother.

"Really and you're making fun of me being late," Takuya said turning to Kouji.

"There's a big difference between you and me Takuya," Kouji replied confidently, "I can afford to leave home a little late cause, unlike yourself, I don't have to wait through city traffic," he finished placing his hand on the handle of his white and blue motorcycle. He had acquired it on his last birthday in celebration for getting his license and mostly everybody agreed that he would act like a big show-off sometimes.

The three friends left the lot and headed inside to their home room class. Takuya broke off from his friends for a moment to put his belongings in his locker. Afterwards he rushed back to the classroom. He was rounding a corner and then… BAM! Takuya face-planted right into an open locker door and fell to the ground. The girl, who the locker belonged to, closed the door and looked down at him in alarm.

"Oh man, Takuya are you all right?!" she asked him worriedly, but also trying to contain her laughter.

"Uh…uh…Leah, ye…yeah I'm fine," Takuya replied back looking up at her, his face blushing furiously.

Takuya had known Leah ever since they had played soccer together as children and all throughout middle and high school. Though too nervous to admit it, Takuya had developed an obvious crush on the girl, who could blame him really. Leah was only about a head shorter than Takuya, with dark red hair that reached down to her shoulders, which she often keep in a ponytail, and were complimented nicely by her beautiful hazel eyes. She extended her hand towards Takuya which he took, still red in the face as she helped him up.

"You're sure?" she said giggling a little, "You hit my locker door pretty hard, even for a hard head like you."

"Yeah well, I was kinda in a rush, not really looking where I was going, so it's not you're your fault," Takuya replied nervously, while rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway… I should get going, you know, don't wanna be late, so later Leah," he said backing up and turning to head back to class.

"Okay… later Takuya," she said smiling as he turned the corner. "What a goof," she sighed. Honestly she'd find him a bit annoying, if she didn't think he was kinda cute as well.

Takuya walked into class, sat down in his seat between Kouji and Kouichi, and sighed to himself rubbing his hands on face. He couldn't believe how much he embarrassed himself in front of his crush.

"Dude, what happened to you, your face is all red?" Kouichi asked turning to face him.

"Apparently he just humiliated himself in front of Leah," a familiar female voice spoke. Takuya uncovered his face and Kouichi turned in his seat to be greeted by the former warrior of wind, Zoe. She too had grown over time. Her beautiful, golden hair reached just below her shoulders, gracing her upper back, and her lovely green eyes looked just as beautiful as ever. She was wearing the girls school uniform, a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black skirt that stopped right above her knees. She was simply stunning to everyone who saw her.

"Hey Takuya, Kouichi, Kouji," Zoë said smiling to her friends.

"Oh, hey Zoë," Kouichi said.

"Hey," Kouji said tilting his head down to hide his own blushing face. Over the years he had improved his social skills with other people, due to the experiences he gained while in the Digital World with his friends. In that time he had especially grown close to Zoë more than anyone else and his little childhood crush had turned into real affection. However Kouji's unchanged, loner attitude kept him from getting any closer to her. Zoe sweetly looked back at Kouji for a brief second, what he didn't know is that she too had developed strong feelings for him and wished for a sign that he was interested too.

"So, how you find out about the incident?" Takuya asked her dryly.

"I passed by Leah in the hall," she replied, "She wanted me ask if you were alright. When I asked her why she told me that you hit your head on her locker, then she told me that you were acting really weird as you headed towards class," she finished with humor in her voice. Takuya's head fell back on the desk with a thump.

"No wonder his face is all red," Kouji stated amused, "I thought it might have something to do with Leah. Real smooth Kanbara."

"You're one to talk about other people's crushes Minamoto," Takuya whispered quietly back to his friend. Kouji's face blushed again as Zoë took her respective seat next to him. Class soon started and the friends turned their attention to the teacher.

* * *

 The lunch bell rang through the school grounds as the four friends walk out into the courtyard on their way to the gang's usual meeting spot. As they were walking, out of the corner of her eye, Zoë saw a large senior bullying what looked like a middle schooler up against a fence.

"Hey, what's going on over there," Zoe asked motioning her hands over to the scene.

"Looks like Renji's found a new kid to torture," Kouichi answered dryly.

"That's no kid," Kouji said, frustration rising, "that's Tommy!"

"What?!"

The gang started hurrying over to the two and sure enough, it was Tommy. The eighth grader was up against the school fence line with an expression of frustration written on his face. Though he had grown, he was still considered the kid of the group. He no longer wore his old hat which let the bangs of his dark brown hair fall nicely over his maturing face. He was only 5'5", easily being towered over by his torturer. Renji was an enormous 5'9" with light brown skin and short black hair and sported a small soul patch on his chin.

"Come on Renji," Tommy pleaded, "I really don't want to deal with you today."

"Hmpf … and I don't really appreciate smart ass comments coming from little brats like yourself," He stated smirking confidently. "I guess your lunch will just make up for your apology," He looked at Tommy's box lunch in his hand, "along with, perhaps, a few extra bucks kid," Renji then demanded. Tommy sneered at the senior, and then he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Renji, what do you think you're doing?" Takuya asked loudly. The senior turned around and looked down at the angered junior. Kouji stood next to Takuya just as angry while Zoë and Kouichi went to check on Tommy.

"What?" Renji replied calmly, "I was just teaching our future freshmen a few things before he moves on."

"More like you were taking advantage of him," Zoë stated matter of factly.

"Sheesh, don't you think it’s kinda pathetic for all four of you to defend just one kid," he stated

"Not when he's our friend," Kouji rebutted, "Now why don't you just hand the box back."

Renji contemplated for a second. Though was larger than both Takuya and Kouji, he wasn't dumb enough to start a fight with two of the most athletic people in the school, especially going against Kouji's kendo and martial arts skills. "Sure," He said through his teeth and shoved the box lunch into Kouji's hand, and then he walked away bitterly from the group. Tommy went up to Kouji to take back his box.

"Thanks," he said looking at the ground.

"You okay Tommy?" Zoe asked as the group started walking.

"Yeah, he didn't really do anything. He was just talking big, I'm sure I could've taken him if I wanted to," he replied, puffing his chest out to impress his older friends.

"You go kid," Kouichi said smiling while ruffling the boys' hair.

The gang reached an oak tree in the middle of the courtyard where the former warrior of thunder, J.P, was sitting under it. J.P still had his brown spiky hair and had lost a good bit of weight over the years, but still bore a large physique. He was sitting under the tree with a can of green tea in his hand staring across the courtyard. He smiled as he saw his friends sit down next to him.

"What's got your attention pal?" Takuya asked while he and the others took their places on the grass.

"Check it out," J.P. said pointing in a certain direction, "Lucas got himself into another fight."

"Again?" Takuya stated looking across the courtyard where he saw a shorter looking junior being scolded by a teacher. He had light brown hair and only reached the same height as Tommy. To make up for his short stature, Lucas often liked to start fights with anybody he could which only caused the other students to grow a disliking for him, not that he seemed to care. The teacher walked away and he turned to see J.P and company staring at the scene.

"What are looking at Shibayama?!" he yelled across the yard.

"Nothing at all!" J.P shouted back. Lucas merely sneered then skulked away. "He'll never learn any better will he?" He said turning back to his friends.

"Do you believe in miracles?" Zoë stated. The others snickered at the comment.

"That kid has scrapped with nearly everybody at this school and people at other schools from what I hear," Kouji added.

"Yeah but sooner or later he gonna get some major karma," Takuya finished.

Everyone nodded in agreement and then began to eat their lunches. The former warriors sat around enjoying their lunches and each other’s company. They discussed current events in their lives and reminisced a bit about the Digital World once in a while. Soon the bell rang, signaling the student to return to class. The friends said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to drag by until finally the last bell rang. Kouji was at his locker, gathering his belongings. Suddenly he mentally groaned when out of the corner of his vision he saw a girl strut up to him.

"Hey there Kouji," she said in a flirty tone. She had long, curly locks of brown hair and her face was highlighted with different shades of make-up.

"Hello Mizuki," Kouji replied with no emotion in his voice.

"You know if your free later today maybe you and I could do something fun together," Mizuki implied still in a flirtatious tone while placing her hand on his shoulder.

"A _tempting_ offer," he retorted shrugging her hand off his shoulder, "but I do in fact have plans this afternoon," he stated. It wasn't that he thought her unattractive; it's just that her nonstop flirting and clinging was extremely annoying. Plus his heart had already been stolen by Zoë.

"What kind of plans do you have exactly?" she rebutted.

"Uh..."

"He's coming over to visit our mother actually," his brother had come almost out of nowhere to save him and Kouji couldn't be more thankful.

"Fine then," she said, obviously annoyed by Kouichi's sudden appearance, "guess I'll see you later Kouji," she finished giving him a wink and then walking away. Kouji simply rolled his eyes.

"Thanks bro," Kouji said.

"Anytime," he patted his brother on the back and they both walked out to the parking lot.

"Mizuki's trying real hard now to get your attention, don't you think," Kouichi joked.

"She's wasting her time if you ask me," Kouji stated.

"That's right, since you already have your eyes set on someone," his brother said raising an eyebrow. Kouji's face turned red once again. "Speaking of whom, I thought you were going to offer her a ride home today?"

"She and her mom went out shopping in the city after school instead," Kouji replied.

"Sorry bro," Kouichi said. Kouji shrugged and was about speak when a voice interrupted them.

"There you are Kouichi," a girl with short black hair and attractive looking eyeglasses ran up to the brothers.

"Hey there Anzu," Kouichi said smiling at the girl.

"Sorry it's so sudden, but I was wondering if I could borrow your class notes, I forgot to write them down today," Anzu asked with a sweet smile.

"Sure, of course," Kouichi reached in his bag and grabbed his notebook, then handing it to Anzu.

"You must be Kouichi's brother, Kouji, a pleasure to meet you," She said turning to him with a friendly smile. Kouji smiled back and gave a slight nod. "Anyway thanks again Kouichi, you're the best," Kouichi smirked a little as he watched her walk away.

"Who's she?" Kouji asked curiously eyeing his brother.

"Anzu Suzumara, She's my lab partner," Kouichi stated. Kouji smirked and climbed on his motorcycle. "What's up with the smirk?"

"Nothing, I just think that she seemed very fond of you," he replied.

Kouichi's face reddened a little at the remark."Sh…shut-up."

Kouji chuckled a bit, "Alright later bro," he said before speeding off.

"Later," Kouichi said as he watched his brother leave.

* * *

 Takuya had arrived back at his home, tired from another boring day at school. He, like the others, missed the adventures they had once shared in the Digital World. There were days where he had wished for the chance to go back, even for just five minutes, just so could see the strange friends they had made while there. Above all else, he missed the presence of the spirit of Agunimon by his side, feeling the power that use to course through his veins. At times, he would sometimes just stand outside to feel the warmth of the sun hit his skin, pretending that the rays were the flames that he had once controlled and fought with. Such wishes, he believed, just wouldn't come true.

He walked inside his house, his parents weren't home, and he figured that they were still at work and that his little brother, Shinya, was most likely at one of his friend's houses. He walked into the living room and sat down on couch and then turned the TV on. For some reason he felt more tired than usual. He felt his eyes get droopier until he had finally laid down on the couch and fell asleep.

* * *

  _He opened his eyes to find himself in a crater like environment with large fires surrounding him on either sides, the smell of smoke filling the air, but it didn't seem to affect him in any way._

"Where am I?" _he thought to himself as he looked around at his setting. He was utterly shocked to find that the intense heat didn't even faze him; it just felt like any other sunny day back home. Slowly he walked up to one of the fires and hesitantly placed his hand into the flame. There was no burning sensation, instead in felt comforting to him as if it was a memory long forgotten. He closed his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist. He then pulled it out of the fire. Slowly he opened his eyes and his fist and saw that he was now holding a small flame in his hand, flickering and glowing warmly. Takuya smiled at the flame as though welcoming back an old friend._

_"Takuya," a voice said from behind him. Takuya quickly spun around, the flame disappearing in his hand, and saw before him the warrior of flame Agunimon, in the flesh, the surrounding flames reflecting off his bright red and gold armor._

_"Agunimon… but how I thought…" Takuya stuttered, stupefied by the legendary digimon sudden appearance. Agunimon raised his hand at the young man to stop him from talking any further._

_"I know it's been a long time Takuya," the Digimon began, "but you see, there is something that you and your friends need to know."_

_Takuya's eyes widened._

_"Soon a great battle will begin and the outcome of this battle will surely affect both your world and mine,” Agunimon told him._

_"O…okay then, how will we be able to win without our spirits and who is the cause of this battle?" Takuya asked hurriedly._

_"Not even the Celestials know who he is," Agunimon replied, "However he is human and seems to have the same dark presence that Lucemon once possessed and he is not alone. Apparently he has convinced a group of dark Digimon to join him."_

_"It will not be easy, but I know that in the end, you'll do what needs to be done. Now go, there is a matter that will need your attending." Agunimon said as his body began to disappear and the flame grew even larger around them._

_"Wait…Agunimon!" Takuya exclaimed, trying to desperately reach for the flame warrior._

_It was too late; the surrounding fires whirled around him, encircling him in a tornado of fire blocking his view of Agunimon. He felt himself waking up from his dream._

* * *

 Takuya shot up, drenched in sweat and panting hard. _"Was that a dream?"_ he looked down at his hand that once had held the tiny flame, _"It felt so real though,"_   his thoughts were then interrupted by the TV.

"We interrupt broadcasting for this emergency alert," Takuya’s attention quickly turned to the TV, "We recommend that all citizens within city limits to please stay in their homes as it seems that there's, you're not going to believe this, a vicious, giant, black dinosaur wreaking havoc within the city." Takuya's eyes grew wider as he saw on the screen, a DarkTyrannomon in the real world.

"No, it can't be?" he said, almost out of instinct he reached inside his pants pocket. Instead of finding nothing, as he expected to, he slowly pulled out his old red and black D-Tector. His eyes became glued on the familiar device.

"Can it?"


	4. Fight Fire with Fire

_Fight Fire with Fire_

The continuous sound of sirens filled the air as countless police squads and swat teams raced to the city. People fled for their lives as the great monstrosity, DarkTyrannomon, rampaged through the streets, towering over everything that stood in his way. The beast stomped thru the streets nearly crushing innocent civilians that were evacuating the area, thrashing his giant claws into buildings watching them being demolished. DarkTyrannomon let out a terrifying roar, showing off his glistening white fangs. The roar shook the entire city.

" **FIRE BLAST!"**

The beast launched his attack towards another building, leaving a large hole in its wall. The pieces of concrete fell to the earth about to land on a woman and her child standing under it. At the last second they were pushed out of the way.

"Go! Get to safety!" Zoë commanded at the two as the three of them stood up. The woman didn't question her for a second, but only said a gracious "thank you" to the courageous girl and ran off with her child in hand. Zoë turned back towards the direction of DarkTyrannomon. _"How is this happening?"_ she thought to herself, _"The gate is supposed to be closed."_

"Zoë!" he mother called for her as she was running up to her. She and her mother had been out shopping in the city when the attack had come out of nowhere. "We have to go now! The whole city is in chaos!" she pleaded, tugging on her daughters' arm desperately.

"I can't mom!" Zoë said pulling her arm out of the grasp.

"Why not?!"

"I…I just can't."

The conversation was interrupted by the blare of police sirens coming onto the scene. Four or five squad cars surrounded the Digimon and the policemen stepped out to immediately point their guns at the beast.

"Fire at will!" the commander shouted at the top of his lungs.

The men responded quickly and began rapidly shooting at the monster, the sound of bullets piercing the air. Though the bullets appeared to be hitting DarkTyrannomon, the Digimon didn't seem to care. Zoë watched in horror, as the Digimon lifted his mighty tail and with one swing, pushed every police officer back away from him and launched three of the squad cars up into the air. One car came right towards Zoë and her mother, they both jumped in opposite directions out of the way as the vehicle crashed into the wall. Zoë stood up almost immediately and began to race towards the direction DarkTyrannomon was heading now.

"Zoë wait! Come back!" her mother pleaded as she watched her daughter run the other direction.

"I'm sorry mom," Zoë replied back sincerely, "I swear that I'll be alright and I'll explain everything later!"

"Wait…" It was too late, she watched her daughter push her way thru a crowd of fleeing people, disappearing from her view.

Zoë took a short cut thru an alleyway and came out on the other side to see DarkTyrannomon in the distance still on a rampage. She felt brave for unselfishly running off to try to find a way to stop him, but still she felt bad for leaving her mother to worry herself sick about her. Still she knew she would be safer if she was away from her. Zoë leaned on the brick wall of the alley, hiding herself from view of the monster. What was she supposed to do, she didn't have her spirit to fight with and even if she did, she doubted that she could take him down alone. It seemed hopeless. She then heard the sound of a familiar motorbike engine getting closer to her position. She immediately ran out of her hiding spot.

"Kouji!" she yelled. Kouji saw her and screeched his bike to a halt in front of her.

"Zoë, there you are," he said utterly relieved to find her unharmed, "you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, but that might not last long. What do we do?" she responded, equally relieved to see him.

"I don't know? We'll think of something."

"What about the others?"

"J.P and Tommy live too far away to get here in time and I can't get a hold of Kouichi. On top of that, the roads are being blocked off by the police."

"Well, what about…" she was interrupted by the sound of Kouji's phone ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket to see that it was Takuya calling and answered it.

"Takuya? Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm trying to get into the city," Takuya responded. His voice sounded like as though he was in a bit of a panic. "Where are you?"

"I'm here with Zoë. We're both in the area where the Digimon is. I couldn't get a hold of anyone else," Kouji was keeping a close watch on DarkTyrannomon as he continued walking thru the city streets. He then handed the phone to Zoë. "Here you talk to Takuya while I drive," he said. Zoë nodded and took the phone then climbed on the bike, placing her hand on Kouji's shoulder as they both took off towards the Digimon.

"Takuya, Kouji and I are heading towards DarkTyrannomon now," she stated

"You guys are crazy!" he said in a frantic tone, "What are you planning to do once you catch up to him!?"

"Well do you have better plan in mind!?" she responded over the roar of the bike engine.

Takuya paused for a moment, "I might," he finally said in calmer tone.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously. She didn't have time to hear his answer; DarkTyrannomon finally had spotted the two warriors coming at him.

"Destroy" DarkTyrannomon growled thru his teeth and then lifted his giant claw ready to stop them in their tracks.

"Hold on!" Kouji shouted to his companion as he swerved out-of-the-way of the attack. Zoë instinctively grasped onto Kouji's jacket, hanging on for dear life and unknowingly dropping the phone in the process. DarkTyrannomon chased after them stepping on the phone, smashing it entirely.

* * *

 

"Zoë! Kouji!" Takuya screamed into his phone as the connection was lost. _"Please God no!"_ his mind grew even more frantic as raced to the city. He was soon stopped by police barriers blocking his way. He stepped out of his car to be greeted by a cop.

"Please sir, you gotta let me through!" he pleaded desperately

"Sorry son," the man responded, "but it's too dangerous to let non-officials through."

"You don't understand my friends are in there they need my help!"

"I promise you we'll do everything we can to help them, but you need to go to a safer location." The cop said then walked away. Takuya looked defeated, his face sweating with worry and he was breathing heavily. His thoughts were only focused on his friends. The thought of losing them filled him with rage. He looked back into the open door of his car, eyes falling on his D-Tector that was laying in the passenger's seat. The worried look on his face was replaced with a look of determination. He snatched the device in his hand, slammed the door behind and bolted past the cop, over the barriers, and into the city streets.

"Kid! What do you think you're doing?!" the cop screamed.

Takuya didn't even glance back; he was running at top speed away from the barrier with the stern look of determination still on his face. He stopped for a second, when he was sure he was out of the cop's view, to catch his breath. He looked up toward the sky and could see a small pillar of smoke rising not far from his current location. He turned his gaze back on the device in his hand.

" _I don't know if you're really there spirit,"_ his grasp on the device tightened, _"but I need you now more than ever,"_ he then raced toward the pillar of smoke, towards DarkTyrannomon, towards his friends.

* * *

 

DarkTyrannomon chased after the two teens, who were dodging his attacks with ease. "Kouji, maybe we should have thought this through a little better," Zoë stated to her friend.

"I'm beginning to agree," Kouji responded back.

Then, the Digimon attacked with another fire blast towards the two. Kouji swerved to avoid, however the maneuver caused the bike to fall on its side and the two hit the pavement. Luckily they came out of the crash with minor cuts and scratches. Their luck didn't last, as DarkTyrannomon lifted his claws ready to crush them both. Zoë saw this and quickly took Kouji's hand and pulled him away. They saw a demolished store and ran inside taking cover from another one of the Digimons' attack. They were panting heavily; Kouji peeked outside to see DarkTyrannomon eyeing the store, snarling fiercely. Kouji turned back to Zoë.

"Zoë, listen to me." He said. She turned to be face to face with him, looking straight into his deep, determined, dark blue eyes. "I'll get his attention while you head for safety and find Takuya." He finished still breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"Are you insane?! I'm not leaving you here alone with that monster!" she told him, angered by the mere suggestion, "Besides, you're already hurt." She finished, her voice softening and looking at the blood dripping down his right arm.

Kouji grasped his wounded arm, which he had cut on some of the broken glass on the floor of the store. Kouji was about to respond when DarkTyrannomon shot another fire blast towards them. The two pressed themselves firmly against the wall they were sitting against as flames emerged thru the blown door and broken windows.

"Besides I don't think either of us can get away at this point." Zoë said to him

Kouji clenched his teeth together out of frustration for the situation. The flames ended, at least for now, and DarkTyrannomon prepared to fire once again. "Damn it." Kouji cursed thru his teeth.

The Digimon was prepared to launch another attack when, suddenly a decently sized rock hit him right below his eye. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it certainly got his attention. The Digimon turned toward his assailant and standing in front was Takuya, standing confidently and looking up at the great beast.

"Why don't you try me for a target you overgrown salamander!" he shouted at the Digimon, not a hint of fear showing in his voice.

"Takuya?!" Kouji stated in utter surprise

"What is he doing?" Zoë added

DarkTyrannomon snarled at the boy and launched his attack at him. Takuya bolted out-of-the-way and started to lead the Digimon away from the others. He ran as fast as could, but he was still exhausted from the run over here. He wasn't fast enough; DarkTyrannomon swung his tail at him, hitting squarely on his back.

"TAKUYA!" Kouji yelled. Takuya was lifted into the air smashing into the wall of a nearby building. Zoë placed her hand over mouth in shock, as she and Kouji watched their friend fall to the ground hard. Takuya Tried to get up but the pain of the attack was too much. Groaning, he barely propped himself up on his elbows as DarkTyrannomon skulked towards him preparing another fire blast. Takuya looked at the D-Tector still firmly in his hand.

"Please spirit, I need you." He whispered painfully. DarkTyrannomon opened his mouth to attack.

"Spirit…" flames began to shoot out of the beasts' mouth.

"Spirit…" the flames were reaching closer toward him.

"SPIRIT!" Takuya screamed at the top of his lungs as the flames encircled his entire area.

"NOOOO!" Zoë screamed trying to run towards the scene, but Kouji pulled her back into a tight embrace knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him. He looked back towards the scene, looking sad upon the fact that his best friend could very well be burning to death.

Then the flames began to die down and a look of shock appeared on the teen's faces when they saw Takuya, with not even a scratch on him, kneeling in circle of flames. Takuya was equally surprised as he looked at his D-Tector, his eye widened when he saw the familiar symbol of fire occupying the once blank screen. His lips formed a confident smile as he stood up while still encircled by the flames and looked directly at DarkTyrannomon.

"You destroy my home, hurt innocent people, and nearly killed my friends," He stated in a confident manner. The flames around him began to grow larger and larger, the Digimon stepped back a little, confused by the human's confidence. Zoë and Kouji, pushing her back in a protective way, also backed off from the intense heat that was still rising.

"DarkTyrannomon…I'll make you pay!" Takuya cried at the beast. His eyes suddenly glowed a bright shade of orange and the familiar fractal code appeared around his hand. He took his D-Tector and scanned the data. As he did something felt a little different than usual, but he didn't seem to care as though his mind was running on autopilot and he couldn't stop.

"Execute! Spirit Synchronization!" he cried out. Data streams formed around him and then the surrounding flames engulfed his body, circling in a way that formed a giant fire tornado. Takuya felt the heat of flames all around him as his regular clothing tore away from his body, his muscles expanded to reach top physical form, and the bright orange light disappeared from his eyes revealing them now to be a different shade of light blue. The tornado disappeared to reveal him after the transformation was complete. His two friends looked at his new appearance in utter shock and awe.

"Did he change into the spirit of Agunimon or is he something different?" Zoë asked Kouji, still in shock.

"I'm not sure, maybe he's both." Kouji replied unsure of the real answer.

He was right to be unsure about his answer. Takuya did indeed feel like he was the legendary warrior of fire, but he didn't look like Agunimon. His appearance resembled his human form, but his clothes were replaced by a stunning red chest plate covering his torso and two shoulder plates rested nicely on top, his arms were covered by armor gauntlets that reached up to his elbows and he sported fingerless gloves on both of his hands. He wore a similar looking belt that Agunimon had worn which bore the symbol of fire on its buckle. From the waist down he was wearing black fighter pants and steel toed boots, and covering his lower legs and knees were metal leg guards. Where Agunimon's horns would be, instead sat a thin gold headband and decorating the rest of the beautiful red armor that he wore were golden markings, painted on to resemble flame. He looked like a combination of his human form and Digimon form, a true warrior of fire.

DarkTyrannomon roared loudly and began charging at his opponent. Takuya did a backflip to place his feet on the wall behind him and, using the wall as leverage, lept towards the charging dinosaur, knocking him back towards the opposite direction. Kouji and Zoë decide to back away, figuring it safer to observe the battle from a distance. Takuya lept off the dinosaur back onto the ground, then DarkTyrannomon quickly got back up and swung his tail at the warrior. Takuya was able to block the attack slightly by putting his arms up, but still the blow was powerful enough to send him rolling and tumbling down the paved streets. The beast used another fire blast upon the warrior, Takuya held his hands out to repel the flame away from his body. The attack ceased and a confident smirk appeared on the warriors face.

"Big mistake," He said still sporting the smile on his face. He began to concentrate hard on the surrounding flames from the last attack. The fire shot towards him and circled both of his arms; he stood and then pounded his fist together making the flames burn brighter than ever before.

" **PYRO TORNADO!"**

He screamed at the top of his lungs and pointed both his arms at the monster, then two large pillars of fire shot from his arms twisting together in the air forming a great vortex of fire racing towards DarkTyrannomon. The flames hit him and he cried out from the pain of the intense heat. The Digimon backed off from the attack trying to get away, but the effort was in vain, because Takuya came bursting through the center of the vortex directly towards DarkTyrannomon, his fist engulfed in raging flames.

" **PYRO PUNCH!"**

The attack hit DarkTyrannomon squarely in his jaw. Several of his fangs broke upon impact, falling to the ground as the Digimon was knocked down to the ground unconscious. Takuya executed about two or three front flips before landing clean on the ground in front of where DarkTyrannomon lay. The Digimons' data formed around his body, Takuya turned to him and raised his D-Tector in his hand.

"Your finished monster," he said in a serious tone, "Fractal code, digitize!" Takuyas' device absorbed the data stream as the dinosaur finally disappeared from sight. Takuyas' own code appeared around him as his form returned to that of a normal human being. He collapsed on his hand and knees, panting hard from the sheer exhaustion he felt. He seemed to have forgotten how tiring fighting really was. Kouji and Zoë rushed over to where he was on the pavement.

"Are you all right, Takuya?" Zoë asked concerned kneeling beside him.

"Yeah, I think so," He replied, still fatigued but forcing a small grin on his face.

"What happened man?" Kouji asked him, standing behind Zoë, "Did you become the spirit of Agunimon or not?"

"I'm not sure," Takuya said looking down at his hands, "It was like I did, but I didn't at the same time."

Suddenly a black SUV pulled up beside them and out of the passenger's seat, appeared Kouichi with a frantic look on his face.

"Thank God you guys are all right," He said racing over to the three.

"Kouichi? What are you doing here?" Kouji asked his brother curiously.

"I'm here to help get you guys out of the area. What do you thinks the cops will do if they find you three out here."

"Kouichi!" Suddenly Anzu's figure appeared from the driver's side of the van, "We have to hurry and get out of here. The others are waiting for us."

" _What's Anzu doing here?"_ Kouji wondered as he and his brother helped Takuya off the ground and led him towards the car with Zoë close behind. _"What does she mean by others?"_ Kouji and Kouichi helped Takuya into the back seat and Kouichi went back to sit in the passenger's seat. Kouji then let Zoë into the back before him. _"What's going on?"_ Kouji then heard police sirens in the distance. He climbed into the back seat next to Zoë and closed the automatic door behind him. The gang then took off out of the area to their next location.


	5. Shining Light

_Shining Light_

The five teens continued to drive their way out of the city in complete silence. Their minds were filled with questions after the events that took place. Kouichi sat in the passenger's seat while Anzu drove. Neither looked at each other except when Kouichi would sneak a sideways glance. He wanted answers. When he had seen the reports earlier today he immediately rushed to the scene. Unfortunately his mom had taken the car so he had to run the whole way. He was not but a mile from his house when he was almost hit by Anzu driving in the same direction. When she had asked him where he was heading he had no choice but to tell all he could. He half expected her to drown him with questions, but instead she just told him to get in and that she would explain everything later. He eyed her curiously as she drove. Kouichi had been known for his skills at reading people well. He didn't object to being suspicious about his friend, but still there was a deep feeling in his chest that told him to trust her.

The other three sat in the back of the car. Takuya sat in the way back while Kouji and Zoë sat in the two upper seats. Kouji placed his hand over his right arm to see if his injury was still bleeding. Though not as bad as before, he felt a good amount of blood. He removed his school jacket and ripped off the sleeve of the white undershirt. He then tied the sleeve around the wound to stop it from bleeding further. Zoë watched out of the corner of her eye.

"How's your arm?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me," he replied giving her a rare smile. She gave him a small smile in return then looked back down at her lap. Kouji continued his gaze upon her. He hated to see her in such a worried state. He also began to hate the silence that once again filled the air. In the past he would almost enjoy peace and quiet when he was alone. That changed after he went to the Digital World and became part of a group. This silence soon became too unbearable, even for him.

"Hey goggle-head," he said trying to break the silence, "you're being unusually quiet. What's up?"

There was a moment of silence before Takuya finally replied. "Huh, What?"

"What's with you?" Zoë questioned turning her head to look behind her.

"Nothing, just lost in thought I guess," he replied.

"Now that is strange," Zoë smirked.

"Ha-ha," Takuya gave his own amused grin, "Hey, check this out," Takuya extended his hand out. He then concentrated hard and small flame appeared in his palm. Kouji and Zoë looked at the flickering flame with awe.

"How are you able to do that?" Kouichi asked looking in at the back with the rear view mirror.

"Not sure," Takuya looked at the flame, "Ever since I got my spirit back I've been able to create and control these small fires."

"Just don't set the car on fire Takuya," Anzu said worriedly as she looked at him in the rear view mirror.

"Would I be that reckless?!" Takuya replied while closing his fist to extinguish the flame.

The car fell silent again. Takuya was about to say something, but was interrupted by Kouji. "How much farther is this place?" he asked Anzu. Takuya fell back in his seat and sighed.

"We're nearly there," she replied. Kouichi looked out his window. They were close to the docks in the warehouse district.

"You still have yet to explain yourself," he asked calmly as he looked back at her. She said nothing and continued to drive. Kouichi leaned his head back on the head rest and sighed deeply.

They arrived at a building near the end of the docks. The group exited the van and began walking up to it. "Why are we here," Zoë asked.

"Anzu, please, we need an answer," Kouji asked as nicely as he could.

"I know," she replied, "This has to do with the Digimon that appeared today and with the legendary warriors," Shock appeared on the warrior's faces.

"How'd you know…" Takuya started but was interrupted.

"Like I said, we can explain everything inside," Anzu stated.

"We?" Kouichi eyed her curiously.

"Let's go in," she said looking down.

The five teens walked inside. The interior looked like that of a normal residence. They walked a straight path through a living area that had a small kitchen on the other side. There were a few closed doors on the other side of them which assumingly led to a bedroom and bathroom. _"Does someone live here?"_ Takuya wondered. They then came up to another door that was down a hallway in the back of the living area. Anzu took out a key and inserted it into the door and opened it. They went thru. On the other side they were greeted by a research lab that took up the majority of the building. File cabinets lined one side of the room while the other side was occupied by large computers. Ones that were used for storing and collecting data. In the middle, there was an advanced looking computer that had wires leading to the ones on the walls. Next to it were some desks and counter tops. On top of one of the desks sat Tommy swinging his legs back and forth and next to him sat J.P slumped over in a chair.

"You guys made it!" Tommy said jumping down off the desk.

"How'd you two get here?" Takuya asked.

"Kouichi called me," J.P started, "He told me pick up Tommy and meet everyone else here. He didn't tell me why though."

"I don't really know why myself," Kouichi stated.

"Then maybe I can elaborate," a voice came from behind them. Their heads turned to see an elderly looking man in the doorway. He looked, at least, like he was in his late seventies with striking grey hair and stubbly beard. He had deep brown eyes, much like Anzu's, that had the look of high intellect. He had, very much, the appearance of a scientist with a long, white lab coat over his regular clothes. "I'm glad that you all made it here alright," he walked over to his desk and sat down in front of the computer.

"I'm guessing you're the one who wanted gather us here," Kouji said sternly. His patience was growing thin.

"Kouji," Zoë elbowed him, "do you have to be so rude?"

The old man chuckled. "It's quite alright. I do believe owe you all some sort of explanation," he straightened up a bit in his seat and began, "My name is Hiroshi Suzumara, I'm Anzu's grandfather. Please don't be mad at my granddaughter for her allusive behavior. She was only doing what I asked of her," Anzu lowered her head slightly. Kouichi shot her a quick side-glance before returning his attention to the old man.

"And why did you ask her to bring us here," Zoë questioned.

"Because he can tell you what's happening with the Digimon," Anzu raised her head to speak. The others turned their attention towards her.

"How is it your grandfather would know about the Digimon?" J.P asked.

"He's a researcher. He's spent a good part of his life analyzing and decoding the Digital code," Anzu said.

"I think it will be clearer if I explain things," Hiroshi stopped her, "Like she said I'm a researcher. In my younger years, I worked in data collection and analyzation. Thru my studies I came across an unusual packet of data that I couldn't decode for the longest time. After much experimentation and many years I was finally able to decode the data. That was my first discovery of the other world."

"So, you discovered the Digital World even before the portal first opened?" Tommy asked the old man.

"Exactly!" Hiroshi's enthusiasm seemed to be rising as he continued on the subject. "I continued my research from that single piece of data and over time I began to discover more and more about the Digital World little by little. But soon I hit a dead-end and my studies stopped. It wasn't until five years ago that they picked back up."

"Five years ago," Zoe interrupted, "That's when we were first transported to the Digital World."

The others soon realized what that meant. "So at that point the Digital barrier would have been weak enough that it would allow the professor here to gather vast quantities of data," Kouichi summarized.

"Precisely," Hiroshi continued, "During that short period of time I acquired enough of the Digital Worlds data to better understand it. I've kept copies of the data and now use them to keep an eye on the barrier that separates our worlds," he then turned to his computer screen and punched in some random codes. The teens gathered around to see what he was doing. On the screen showed a radar like chart. "This here represents the state of the digital barrier five years ago," he explained. A medium-sized red area in the center showed the portal in which the warriors first entered the Digital World.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain how DarkTyrannomon got here," Kouji stated, "After we finished our journey and were sent back home that gate should have been closed."

"True, but I have been keeping a close eye on the barrier after that and discovered this," Hiroshi typed in more codes on his computer. Another graph similar to the one before appeared, only this one had a red area that nearly encompassed the entire graph. "As you can see, the barrier has deteriorated at an alarming degree. That is how DarkTyrannomon came here."

"Grandpa's research also let him study some of the Digital Worlds history involving the Legendary Warriors," Anzu added, "He used the data he collected on them to lead him to you guys."

Everyone remained silent for a good time until Tommy became the first one to speak, "Wait, if your grandpa was able to track us down using the Legendary Warriors data, doesn't that mean that anyone else can?"

"You have a point," Zoë said, "DarkTyrannomon seemed to know who Kouji and I was and was pretty focused on destroying us."

"Then maybe someone sent DarkTyrannomon here instead of him just coming across the portal," Kouji added, "and that someone might also be responsible for destroying the barrier."

"And that someone knows who we are and how to track us," Takuya finish. The group was interrupted by an alarm going off in the room. "What's that?" Takuya asked.

"The alarm is designed to go off at the presence of a rogue Digimon," Hiroshi answered. He went back to his computer and typed in more codes to bring up a map of the city.

"Where is it?" Takuya asked

"It's close. It's appeared in the old, abandoned factory not far from here," Hiroshi replied.

"Alright then," Takuya attitude returned to its usual energetic state, "I say we head over there and kick some digi-tail."

" _Great. Looks like the return of our hot-headed leader,"_ Kouji thought himself with a smirk.

"But the rest of you don't have your D-Tectors," Anzu stated.

"That's never stopped us before," J.P said with the utmost enthusiasm. The warriors excitement was rising at the thought of be able to fight with their Spirits once more.

"Very well," Hiroshi finally said, "good luck and be careful."

* * *

 

The six teens rushed over to the very large old factory. It had at least four stories to it. They went inside to find the rogue Digimon. Abandoned was right. The inside of the building was covered with dust and debris from years of underuse. The floor was scattered with pieces of broken cement and pipes and there were old, dysfunctional conveyor belts that did nothing but occupy space.

"There's so much dust. I'm surprised the building hasn't been torn down," Tommy coughed.

"The city felt it would be a waste of time and money to do so. They mainly use this building as extra storage space," Kouichi said shining his flashlight over to a couple of storage boxes.

"It doesn't look like there's any recent damage around here," Zoë said looking around they area with her own flashlight.

The gang continued their investigation of the current area. Kouji then came across a door on one side of the room. It appeared locked; however the hinges were old and rusty. With a few heavy tackles Kouji was able to knock it down. On the other side were stairs that led down below. "Hey I think this leads to the basement," he exclaimed to the others.

"And these must go up towards the upper levels," J.P added from the other side of the room.

Takuya thought for a second before finally speaking, "Okay I think we should split up. Kouji can take one group to investigate the basement while I'll take the others upstairs."

Tommy and Zoë were closer to Kouji's location so they decided to go with him leaving J.P and Kouichi to team up with Takuya. Takuya was nervous about leaving those three without their spirits. However, Takuya also knew that Kouji was a strong fighter and wouldn't let anything happen to them. The two groups separated towards their destinations.

* * *

 

The upper levels were just as abandoned looking as the lower levels. The halls were filled with dust and old tattered papers from its earlier days of operation. The trio had already swept the third floor and found nothing and was now on the fourth. As they were searching, J.P found an old circuit box. After being infused with the spirit of thunder and being able to harness electricity, J.P became very intrigued in electronics and learned how to operate them as well. He opened the box and shone his light on it. After fiddling with it for a while Takuya approached.

"Well?" Takuya asked.

"No good," J.P replied, "There's not even a spark of electricity. This whole place is dead."

"Well then that proves that a portal didn't open here at random," Kouichi said, "In order for a portal to open there has to already be a source of energy to feed off of."

"Unless someone really has found a way to open a portal on their own," Takuya scratched the back of his head in thought, "The question now is who could pull something like that off."

Kouichi was about to say more when he felt something warm drip down his neck and back. He placed his hand on the back of his neck and felt something wet.

"What the!" he exclaimed taking a few steps back. He immediately shone his flashlight up above where he was standing. He was greeted by a pair of beastly eyes and sharp-looking teeth. It looked like a great ape.

"Shit!" Kouichi shouted. In a flash the beast jumped down from where it was hanging of the ceiling to the ground. Kouichi jumped out-of-the-way in time and Takuya and J.P backed up towards the wall to avoid the blow-back. The creature's fist left a large crack in the cement.

"What the hell is that?" J.P said.

Takuya pulled out his D-Tector. The device identified the Digimon as Gorillamon. "Why are you here!?" Takuya demanded an answer from the beast.

The silver-haired ape shifted his eyes towards to the fiery leader. "My master sent me here," Gorillamon finally spoke, "You warriors are a threat to his plans. You must be destroyed."

"Easier said than done," Takuya confidently remarked.

Gorilla raised his right arm, which was a cannon, and aimed it at the two.

" **ENERGY CANNON!"**

Takuya and J.P barely dodged the attack and ducked their way past Gorillamon to end up behind him.

"Stand back," Takuya told his comrades

"Yeah, no problem," J.P replied

"SPIRIT SYNCHRONIZATION!" Energy flowed thru Takuya's veins once again as flames engulfed his body. They disappeared and Takuya stood in his new fighting form.

" _Takuya was right,"_ Kouichi thought as he saw the new transformation for the first time, _"he looks as though he is half human and half Digimon."_

Takuya lunged at the beast only to be blown back by Gorillamon's fist. He was thrown back against the far wall, "Maybe that wasn't a good idea," Takuya said while holding his pounding head. Kouichi and J.P got out-of-the-way as Gorillamon ran towards Takuya. Takuya reacted immediately and three small flames appeared in his palm.

" **PYRO DARTS"**

He flung them at his opponents face. The flames hit Gorillamon in his eyes temporarily blinding him. Takuya launched more pyro punches at the ape sending him back slightly. Takuya rushed in for another head on attack. Gorillamon recovered from his blindness and jumped up towards the ceiling before Takuya could reach him. He then jumped back down on top of Takuya sending them both crashing thru the floor to the third level. Gorillamon was still on top of Takuya. Takuya sent a giant flame up towards the ape causing him to back off of him.

"That won't help you," Gorillamon aimed his cannon arm back at Takuya. Then a cold substance hit the back of his head. Gorillamon snarled and turned to see J.P holding a hose used to put out factory fires. Kouichi was at the turn valve.

"You should pay attention to all your opponents, instead of just one," J.P confidently stated. Gorillamon snarled at their interference. Takuya took the opportunity to attack again. He delivered a clean kick to the side of his face. The blow knocked Gorillamon back on the ground. Takuya was on top of his torso about to deliver a fiery punch but Gorillamon grasped Takuya in his large hand and pounded him into the floor. Again he lifted him and pounded him hard to the floor causing it to crumble beneath them. They were once again in the main factory floor. Takuya was temporally out cold. Gorillamon landed on the ground next to him. He then noticed the open door that led to the basement.

"So there are more below," he looked down at the floor and smiled evilly, "I'll deal with them first," he pointed his cannon at the floor.

* * *

 

Kouji, Zoë, and Tommy headed down the stairs towards the basement. It was completely dark the only light present was the light come from the three teen's flashlight. The basement itself was large encompassing the entire area of the factory and was filled with dust and cobwebs. Old, rusty machines cluttered various areas. The three explored the basement for a good time.

"So what do we do if we find the Digimon?" Tommy wondered.

"Simple," Kouji replied, "I would hold it off while you two go find the others."

"That's your plan," Zoë said in reply.

"Yeah, problem?" Kouji replied back calmly. Tommy decided it to be better not to get involved with the argument and went explore another part of the basement.

"Do you ever think before you act," she began, "You always insist on doing things on your own. I thought you learned better since the Digital World."

"I have," he replied, "but right now none of us have our spirits with us, so it would be pointless if we all die."

She shook her head, "You know that cocky attitude of yours is going to kill you one day," she said. Kouji sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing with her. She was so stubborn. "Like earlier today when we were up against DarkTyrannomon," she remembered how he had suggested that he'd sacrifice himself so that she could escape.

Kouji's frustration rose slightly at the comment, "Well forgive me for saving your life then!"

Zoë didn't react to his frustration but just sighed, "You just don't get it," she said quietly.

Kouji's eyes softened as he continued his gaze upon his friend. Before he could say anything else Tommy spoke. "I hate to interrupt you two," he started, "but do you guys hear that as well."

The two listened carefully. Sounds of large far off crashes were present. "What is that?" Zoë asked.

Kouji didn't say anything but focused his sharp senses on the noise. Another crash was heard. It sounded closer. Kouji slowly made his way to the center of the room.

"Kouji," Zoë said. Her voice was full of worry and demand. She didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Kouji paid no attention to her and continued his focus on the sound. Another crash was heard and it was even closer than the last one. He shone his light over to the direction of the sound. Small rocks and dust fell from the ceiling thru the beam of light. Realization hit him at last. "Take cover!" he shouted at his friends. A large blast sent dust and debris flying from the ceiling as the three shielded their faces with their arms. A large beast jumped down from the hole.

"Hello young warriors," Gorillamon stood before them.

"The others must have found the Digimon," Zoë stated.

"But what happened to them?" Tommy asked

Gorillamon didn't hesitate and charged at the group. The three quickly scattered. Gorillamon was able to spot Tommy first and headed after him. Kouji saw this and quickly took in his surroundings. He spotted a broken pipe and picked it up and held it like a sword. The pipe was broken with a sharp tip at the end. A suitable weapon. Tommy had reached a dead-end and turned to face his attacker. He was afraid but it didn't show on his face and he kept his determined gaze at the Digimon. Gorillamon aimed at him but then Kouji ran up behind him and used the pipe to pierce his hand. The Digimon cried in pain and turned to face Kouji. In an instant, Gorillamon side swiped his fist at Kouji, sending him hurling to the other side of the room.

"Kouji!" Tommy screamed as he saw his older friend slam against the wall. Zoë watched from her own hiding place. Her face was full of despair for him. Kouji was able to get up on one knee only. He tasted blood.

Gorillamon removed the pipe from his hand with his teeth and walked toward him. "You're first," he aimed at Kouji. Kouji lifted his head as best as he could. He then saw a red blur jump from the hole in the ceiling on top of Gorillamon. Takuya grasped onto the Digimon. His red armor was dented and his body was covered in scratches from his previous battle. Determined to save his friends, Takuya shot flames upon Gorillamon's back. He howled with pain and purposely fell backwards on the ground. He crushed Takuya with his tremendous weight. Takuya fell unconscious as Gorillamon got up and grabbed the fire warrior by his legs and threw him against a wall. Takuya landed and returned to his regular form upon impact. He landed close enough to where Zoë was hiding. She rushed over to him to see if he was okay.

"All of you humans are nothing but pests," Gorillamon walked towards them, "Why don't you make this easier and just die!"

Kouji looked at his fallen friend. He desperately wanted to do something. He hated being so useless. He could bear to see any of his friends die in front of him especially after he worked so hard to keep them. His soul was burning with the desire to fight, and then he noticed an ever-growing light beside him. He glanced over and saw his flashlight. It had fallen beside him when he was hurled against the wall. The light was shining brighter than it ever did. It was pulling him towards it. He extended his arm and placed his hand in the line of the beam. The light became even brighter that it nearly lit up the entire room. Zoë and Tommy shielded their eyes a bit and Kouichi and J.P just entered the room thru the stairwell. The light also got the attention of Gorillamon. The light faded and Kouji held his blue and white D-Tector. A familiar urge coursed through his veins and he didn't waste another minute and scanned the data that appeared around his hand.

"Spirit Synchronization!"

The flash of light appeared again and Kouji underwent the familiar transformation. His muscles expanded, his senses were sharper, and his deep blue eyes were replaced by dark red ones. His clothes became replaced by white and purple armor like Lobomons'. A chest plate protected his torso and a white under armor shirt clung to his muscles. His left shoulder wore an armor guard that bore the symbol of light. His left arm was covered in light armor and he wore the lobo laser on his gauntlet. His right arm and shoulder wasn't covered like his left except for another gauntlet on his hand and forearm. His lower half wore white loose pants and a belt that sheathed his lobo kendos. He also wore white and purple armored boots and leg guards.

Gorillamon looked at the warrior standing confidently in front of him and snarled, "You think you can win now."

"I intend to," Kouji drew one of his swords ready to fight.

Gorillamon lifted his hand and slammed it to the ground. Kouji dodged easily and jumped up to deliver a successful knee to his opponent knocking him back slightly. Zoë and Tommy took the opportunity and helped Takuya away from the fight as he was gaining consciousness. Gorillamon shot an energy blast towards the light warrior. However Kouji was significantly faster than the ape and dodged the attacks with ease. After dodging another attack, Kouji aimed his laser at the beast and fired precisely into the barrel of his cannon. Gorillamon was blasted back into a wall. He let out a great roar at the warrior that shook the entire room. He then charged towards in full rage. Kouji gripped his sword firmly and sped towards the Digimon. Kouji sped past his opponent in a flash and then sheathed his blade

"You missed," Gorillamon said triumphantly.

"Did I?" Kouji replied calmly.

Gorillamon was confused but then he felt a great mass of weight leaving his body. Kouji's blade had sliced cleanly thru his cannon arm causing it to fall to the floor. Gorillamon fell on his knees and his data stream appeared around him. Kouji pulled out his D-Tector and scanned the data and Gorillamon disappeared. Kouji's form returned to normal and he fell upon one knee. He felt tired from the experience.

"Yeah, I know. After a while you forget how tiring it is," Kouji lifted his head to the side to see a scratched up Takuya standing next to him with his arm extended. Kouji took it and Takuya helped him up. They then walked towards the others.

"Nice going, bro," Kouichi said placing a hand on his brothers' shoulder, "looks like you got your spirit back."

Kouji smiled slightly. He glanced over to Zoë who was also smiling. She was glad that he was okay and he felt the same about her. His gaze then lowered. "We still don't know anything about his master," he said.

"But we know for sure now that there is someone tampering with the digital barrier," J.P concluded.

"Let's head back to Anzu and the professor and tell them what we know," Takuya decided. The others agreed

* * *

 

"So this "master" is responsible for the destruction of the barrier," Hiroshi said after listening intently to the warriors report. The others nodded.

"Do you know of anyone who could do that?" Anzu asked her grandfather.

"Not at the moment," he replied after thinking a bit, "After all, there are still many things we don't know yet. But at least the spirits are responding to this threat."

"Speaking of which," Zoë said, "we still don't have an explanation as to why Takuya and Kouji look the way they do when they digivolve."

"I have a theory," Kouichi said. Everyone's attention was turned to him, "Well, when we first acquired the spirits we were in the Digital World and our bodies were comprised of data then. Back then it was easier for the spirits to reconfigure our data to their shape and form. But here in our world we're flesh and blood. So instead of data, the spirits would have to bond with our regular DNA thus creating a human-digimon crossbreed."

"That would make sense," Hiroshi said impressed by the boy's intelligence.

"Yeah, I guess that seems right," Takuya stated, "Anyway I think we should think more on this another day. We should head home; our parents are probably worried sick."

"Yeah and I gotta get my bike back from the police tomorrow," Kouji said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"I guess I'll take Tommy home," J.P said.

"And I'll drive the others back to their homes," Anzu concluded.

They said their goodbyes and departed for home. Each warrior thought about the adventure they soon faced as well as the dangers.

* * *

 

Back in the Digital World, in the realm of the dark gate there is a stone structure where evil plans its next move.

"Gorillamon was also defeated," a frustrated Beelzemon proclaimed.

"Apparently he was destroyed by warrior of light when he regained his spirit," LadyDevimon replied.

Beelzemon snarled, "Now he and the warrior of flame pose a threat and soon the others will as well. I say we just go there now and kill them in their sleep."

"No," the dark man sat hunched over on a stone throne pondering about these new events.

"But…sir," Beelzemon was angered and troubled by his master's response.

"Why would you allow them to regain their power?" LadyDevimon finished.

The man chuckled, "I'll let the children have their fun; it makes the game more challenging and intriguing. In the meantime we will continue with phase one," a Vilemon then flew into the chamber with a dark sphere of data in his hand. He then placed it in front of the man and then flew back out of the room. The man picked up the orb and gazed at it mesmerized.

"But how will you know that they won't come to the Digital World to confront you in person?" LadyDevimon questioned.

The man's gaze turned toward his servant. "Simple," he started, "as long as we keep sending Digimon to wreak havoc upon the real world the warriors will be too distracted to focus on this one. At least until we enable the next phase in our plan," he said the last line with a wicked grin on his face.


	6. Sandstorm

_Sandstorm_

The week continued on without another attack. The warriors still kept in close contact with the professor though, in case of one. As the week progressed, everything appeared as though it was normal. The teens still spent time with their families, attended regular classes, and hung out together on a daily basis. The only thing different now was that Takuya and Kouji had their spirits once again dwelling inside them. The others were anxious to receive their spirits as well, but with no threats present all they could do was wait patiently.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Not a single cloud was seen in the sky and birds chirped peacefully as they flew. It was a perfect day to go to the beach. Takuya, Kouji, Zoë, and Tommy had decided that after all that had happened in the previous week that it would be nice to try to have a day of relaxation. J.P had a school project that needed to be finished so he couldn't come and Kouichi would often have plans to help Professor Suzumara with his research so he couldn't go either. Hiroshi found the boy's intellect very helpful in pushing his research on the Digital World even further. It was also good for Kouichi since he got to spend more time with Anzu.

* * *

 

The day was hot with a blistering sun overhead and the beach had its usual crowd of families and sunbathers. One area of the sandy dunes was occupied by a young family. In the water, a father was happily playing with his daughter splashing and laughing in unison. His wife watched them with a smile while reading a book. Next to her sat their youngest daughter playing in the sand.

"Look mommy," the young girl chirped after finishing her sand castle.

"That's very nice sweetie," the mother replied smiling sweetly at her daughter.

Her smile soon slowly faded and was replaced by a more concerned look on her face. She, along with her daughter, watched as the mound of sand began to shake and break apart before her eyes. As she leaned in slightly she placed her hand on the soft sand below her. Her panic rose as she felt the ground trembling underneath. Her frightened daughter grasped onto her mother as the ground shook more. The woman then let out a shriek, clasping on to the child protectively, as a blast of sand shot straight upward behind them. Her husband turned instinctively upon hearing his wife's terrified scream. He told his daughter to stay put and then rushed towards the two. He instantly felt the rumbling as his feet hit the sand but continued his path towards his wife. He reached them and grasped his wife's shoulder pulling her to safety. The ground continued to shake as other beach goers in the area also were affected.

"Daddy!" the man whipped his head toward the direction of his other daughter who was trembling with fear as sand began swirling in front of her. He immediately rushed back to her and grabbed her in his arms in a protective manner. He backed away from the swirling sand and suddenly a large cyclone of water erupted from the center. The father dove to the ground still protecting his daughter. His wife and fellow onlookers gazed upon the scene in complete shock. He turned his head slightly and looked at the geyser; he began to hear a low bellowing as he swore that something was emerging from the spiral of water.

* * *

 

Not too far from the scene, the four warriors were happily relaxing and enjoying each other’s company unaware of the events that were occurring. A Frisbee flew through the air and was caught by an energetic Tommy.

"Nice catch kid," Takuya yelled out to his young friend. Takuya stood in the cool ocean water wearing a pair of red and orange swim trunks and his signature goggles rested on his head giving off a glare from the sun. Tommy turned back towards his friends. He was wearing a simple dark green pair of swim trunks and covered his torso with a plain white t-shirt.

"You know, sometimes I wish you guys would stop calling me kid. I gonna be in high school soon," he said in a joking manner throwing the Frisbee as he did.

"True," Zoë said catching the disc, "but to us you'll always be the kid in the group no matter how old we all get." She wore a lovely lavender bikini that showed her flat stomach and her golden hair shone radiantly under the bright sun. She threw the plastic disc back at her friends. The group had been enjoying their day off.

"Remember when it used to be always peaceful like this," Takuya joked.

"Try not to jinx it Takuya," Kouji remarked, "whenever you say stuff like that something always goes wrong," he chuckled softly at the end. He was wearing dark blue swim trunks and had a button shirt that was completely open showing off his chest, which gave some other girls on the beach something to look at. His trademark blue and brown striped bandana rested comfortably on his head.

"Hey, that might not be a bad thing all the time," Takuya stated, "Personally I'd rather have something like that happen during school so I'm not bored to tears in math class."

"I find it hard to believe that there are tears in your eyes in that class since you always sleep through it," Zoë remarked with a smirk. Kouji and Tommy both chuckled while Takuya had an amused grin on his face.

"So," Tommy started, "Why is it again that neither J.P or Kouichi could make it."

"I believe J.P mentioned something about a project that he forgot to finish," Zoë answered, "and Kouichi decided to go assist Professor Suzumara in his research."

"Again?" Takuya questioned looking at Kouji.

"Yeah," Kouji replied dryly, "apparently they've been working constantly to try to discover who's responsible for the Digimon appearing in our world," Kouji let out a quiet sigh. He didn't fully trust the old man yet, feeling as though he was keeping some stuff secret from him and his friends. He did however trust his brother and decided to just go along with whatever he had to say on the matter since he was spending the most time at the lab.

"Guess that's understandable," Takuya said breaking Kouji out of his thoughts, "Plus there's the fact that he's been hanging out with Anzu all the time," he said the last part jokingly.

"There's that too," Zoë also said in a joking manner. Kouji merely let out a soft chuckle but then froze in place. Thanks to regaining his spirit, his even sharper senses were picking up a far off sound that was getting closer.

"What is it Kouji?" Tommy asked. The others also turned their attention towards their friend.

"Listen," Kouji replied, "Do you guys hear that?" The others stood silent. They concentrated hard to try and match the wolf boy's keen sense of hearing. Soon they began to faintly hear something.

"Yeah," Takuya was the first to speak, "it sounds like sirens."

He was right. The sirens kept getting closer and closer. Soon, two patrol cars appeared on the dunes and started speeding towards a certain direction. The group watched the cars intently as the sped across the dunes. They looked at each other and instantly knew something was wrong.

"Like I said," Kouji finally said in a sarcastic tone, "everything seems peaceful until something goes horribly wrong."

"Come on," Takuya turned serious, "Let's go check it out."

The four teens ran as fast as they could towards the scene of disaster. When they arrived, there were many onlookers at the scene. There sand dunes were covered in scattered debris of wood and various belongings of beach-goers. There were already a few ambulances at the scenes treating people for injuries and for the utter shock they received from the experience. The group continued to make their way thru the crowd until they came across a family being questioned by the authorities. The family looked the most beaten out of anyone. Two young children were sitting being comforted by the paramedics while their parents were being interviewed by the police. The mother was standing, arms crossed, and looking quite pale as she explained the events to the cop. Her husband sat next to her holding his pounding head which had gauze wrapped around his forehead.

"What happened?" Zoë asked one of the onlookers.

"Apparently these people were attacked by some kind of monster," a young woman replied with disbelief in her voice.

"Monster?" Tommy questioned further.

"Yeah," the girl continued, "it came out of nowhere and just started attacking everyone and then just disappeared into the ocean," her voice had a hint of fear in it.

The warriors were growing more concerned. "What did this monster look like?" Zoë asked.

She shook her head a little. "I didn't see it myself," the girl said, "but everyone else has been describing it as a giant sea monster with a giant seashell on its back," the way she talked sounded like she couldn't believe it herself.

The warriors were now certain that it must have been a Digimon that attacked everyone. Zoë looked back at the family for a second and a pained and angered expression grew on her face. Seeing how these rogue Digimon could seriously hurt innocent people made her even more upset. Kouji, who was hanging back away from the crowd, wore a very serious expression on his face along with Takuya. He then pulled out his cell phone from his shirt pocket and saw that he had missed a call from his brother. He quickly dialed the number as the others stood around him waiting to see what was going on. After a few rings, Kouichi answered.

"Kouji! Where have you guys been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for a while now," he stated, his voice sounding very agitated.

"Sorry," Kouji replied very calmly, "My phone was on silent. Now what's going on?"

"Another Digital Portal has opened up on the beach you guys were at," Kouichi explained.

"We kinda figured that," Kouji replied sarcastically, "the Digimon has already attacked and injured several people."

"What we want to know is where the Digimon went," Takuya interrupted.

"We want to know that too," Kouichi replied.

"What?" Kouji asked

"Apparently," Hiroshi's voice came from the background, "after the Digimon came through the portal his signal disappeared."

"The girl I was talking to said that the Digimon went into the sea after it attacked," Zoë said, "Maybe that was when the signal was lost."

"That's a possibility," Hiroshi continued to speak, "I still believe the Digimon will go after you all next. Maybe should try to investigate the area you were all in last."

"We were on the other side of the beach at the time, let's head back," Tommy suggested.

"As always, be careful kids," Hiroshi finished.

"Right," Kouji said before hanging up.

* * *

 

The warriors soon rushed back towards the area they came from. When they reached their destination everything still seemed peaceful.

"Doesn't look like anything's changed," Tommy said.

"Let's not let our guard down," Takuya stated, "The Digimon could still just show up unexpected. We need to just find and stop it before it can hurt anyone else."

"We might too late for that," Zoë frantically said, "Look!" she motioned her hand out towards the ocean. The others quickly ran to the edge of the water to get a better look. Out in the water were a couple of surfers being tossed around by some brutal and unnatural waves. On the shore, onlookers watched as they clung on to their boards with the exception of those getting flung into the water. Something was racing toward the shore. Takuya and Kouji both instantly grabbed their D-Tectors ready for battle.

"Zoë, Tommy you guys try to get the civilians away from the area while we fight," Takuya ordered at the two. Zoë and Tommy nodded then headed off away from the two fighters. Zoë stopped for a second to look back toward the direction of the Digimon before heading off again. Takuya and Kouji didn't wait another second and quickly digivolved to their spirit form. The creature finally reached the shore and his shell emerged from the sand it front of the two warriors. The beast's head and body emerged from the shell and he let out a roar at the warriors. Shellmon was ready to fight.

"I'm guessing your master sent you here to kill us, correct," Kouji snarled at the shellfish. Shellmon merely smiled at the comment.

"Well let's see what you got!" Takuya charged at the Digimon.

" **HYDRO PRESSURE!** "

Shellmon sent a stream of highly pressurized water from his head at the flame warrior, sending him back a good way. Kouji sprung to action. He jumped at the creature landing a successful punch to the side of his face, but then was thrown back by a side swipe from the Digimon's hand. Takuya shot flames at the beast causing him to retreat into the water, disappearing from view.

"Is he gone?" Takuya wondered.

"Doubt it," Kouji stated holding out one of his kendos in a defensive position, "he's just waiting for the opportunity to strike back."

The two warriors stood tensed on the shore waiting for the shellfish to return. A loud scream broke them of their trance as they turned to see geysers of water bursting out of the sand. Civilians tried desperately to find cover. Kouji then felt a low rumbling beneath him.

"The bastard's under the sand!" Kouji stated aloud. The two warriors were easily able to dodge the geysers. Normal people weren't so lucky. Thankfully both Zoë and Tommy were aiding civilians in their escape. In one instance a geyser was ready to erupt underneath a young, frightened child. Zoë reached him in time before it erupted. She placed the child back down and watched him run to his mother's arms.

"This is getting hectic," Tommy stated running up to Zoë.

"I agree." Before she could say anymore she noticed two other civilians standing atop another geyser, "Guys!" she screamed to get her friends attention.

Takuya heard her call and then noticed the two beach-goers. In two swift moves he reached the two and jumped to get them to safety. He released them when he hit the ground gracefully. "Go! Get away from here!" He commanded. The two didn't question their rescuer, but simply nodded and ran off. Takuya turned back his attention to his comrade who as trying desperately to locate Shellmon.

" _Damn! I can't track Shellmon underneath all this sand,"_ Kouji thought gritting his teeth together in anger.

"What now?" Tommy wondered.

"I don't know," Zoë replied in a worried tone, "Shellmon has the upper hand. As long as he stays underground the guys can't successfully attack him and I even doubt that Kouji can find him this way," she clenched her fist tighter out of frustration. _"If only there was a way to unearth him_ , _but I can't think of anything. Ugh, I feel so useless!"_ Zoë soon noticed that as her frustration rose the wind seemed to slightly pick up. All of her attention turned to the feeling of the wind grazing her face. It felt so inviting to her.

"Look!" Tommy's voice broke her out of the trance and her attention returned to her friends. Takuya and Kouji continued dodged the geysers until Takuya's frustration finally reached its limit.

"I'm getting real sick of this," he angrily shouted. After another geyser finished erupting, Takuya countered by blasting a pyro tornado down the remaining hole. It worked. The flaming spiral was enough to cause Shellmon to reappear above the sand with a pain filled shriek.

" _He got him!"_ Kouji said to himself as he observed. Takuya smiled triumphantly. Shellmon however was far from pleased. Shellmon then sent another stream of water towards Takuya. Takuya was able to guard but this stream was far more intense than the previous ones and soon it broke his defense and sent him flying back and tumbling brutally against the sand dunes.

"Bastard!" Kouji raced toward Shellmon with sword in hand. Shellmon eyed him angrily before retreating into his shell and back down into the sand. "Damn," he angrily muttered through his teeth, his own frustration rising. Then Kouji felt something grab his leg. He looked down to see one of Shellmon's tendrils trying to pull him down beneath the sand. "Nice try," Kouji said with an almost amused grin. He then took his blade and sliced the tendril clean through causing Shellmon's screams of pain to be heard even above the dunes. In retaliation, Shellmon blasted a powerful stream of water through the sand sending Kouji flying upwards and then crashing down hard upon the beach. The growing ache in his body prevented him from getting up.

"No! They're both down!" Tommy shouted seeing both of his friends getting beaten by the giant hermit crab.

"There has to be some way we can help them," Zoë whispered quietly to herself. There had to be some way to attack Shellmon even though he was buried. She and her friends had never given up before, why start now? Again she felt the wind slightly pick up. She closed her eyes and then remembered the other instances when Takuya and Kouji regained their spirits. She remembered how flames encircled Takuya's body when he once again became infused with the spirit of Agunimon. She recalled how there was a blinding light before Kouji stood tall with his D-Tector in hand. The memories gave her an idea.

"Zoë?" Tommy looked at his friend questionably. His voice didn't reach her though. She concentrated hard on the breeze around her. The wind continued to increase as she focused on it. She felt her racing heart begin to relax and beat steadily as she welcomed back the embracing feel of the wind coming in contact with her skin. In her hand a small glowing orb glowed brighter and brighter.

"Zoë!" Tommy exclaimed. This time she heard him. She opened her eyes to come face to face with familiar purple D-Tector. Utter elation appeared on her face. Tommy stepped back slightly and continued to watch his friend with a smile. Zoë held out her D-Tector confidently.

"SPIRIT SYNCHRONIZATION!"

Zoë felt the fabric of her bikini being replaced by the cool armor that resembled that which was worn by Kazemon. Light purple armor covered her upper chest and breasts stopping at her shoulders and stomach. Her lower abdomen, starting below her bellybutton, also was covered by the light armor and purple fabric reaching down her legs. Her legs were also covered armor guards and boots. Her arms had little covering besides small armor plating on her shoulders and gauntlets similar to Kazemon's on her hands each bearing the symbol of wind. She also wore a visor around her eyes just like Kazemon's and her hair seemed to have grown slightly longer.

Takuya and Kouji looked upon the newly revived warrior of wind. Takuya was surprised at first but quickly a smile appeared on his face. Kouji wore a smirk on his own face, but couldn't help but slightly blush at his friend. To him she looked even more beautiful than before. Zoë held out her hand and in a swift move conjured up a great tornado, blowing away the sand finally revealing the hidden Shellmon.

"Looks like we finally brought you out of hiding," she said with a smirk. Shellmon let out a low growl at her but didn't have time to counter attack as he was instantly struck by Kouji's howling laser.

"Nice job Z," he said giving her a side-glance.

"It's not over yet," Zoë replied and with another motion of her hand created another gust of wind to lift Shellmon out of the hole and back onto the shore. As soon as Shellmon landed he was bombarded with attacks from both Kouji and Takuya. Shellmon attacked back, sending the two boys back a little but Zoë was able to deflect the attack away from her. The attack ceased and Zoë retaliated.

" **HURRICANE WAVE** "

Small tornadoes shot from her fingertips and launched the Digimon way up high into the air. Using another gust of wind, Zoë launched herself up just as high. When she reached him, she delivered a brutal kick sending him flying back towards the ground with a mighty thud and sending sand everywhere. Shellmon's data stream appeared to be quickly absorbed by Zoë before she and the others returned to normal.

"Way to go Z," Tommy exclaimed running up to her.

"Thanks kid," Zoë replied still sounding a bit out of breath. There was little time to celebrate their victory as they heard the sound of police sirens getting closer.

"I think we should get out of here before we get arrested for vandalism," Takuya suggested.

"I agree," Zoë said then the group hurried out of the area before they sirens reached them.

The teens were able to relax when they reached a safer area. At the end of the day they were all tired from the previous events. Kouji walked up next to Zoë who was gazing down at her D-Tector with a smile.

"Not quite the day of relaxation we were all hoping for, huh," Kouji stated jokingly.

Zoë attention turned towards the boy next to her, "No, but it always turns out better in the end," She replied still smiling and clenching her D-Tector.

Kouji gave her a genuine smile in return. "Since you're tired," he started, "how bout I take you home?" motioning toward his bike.

"Sure. Thanks Kouji," Zoë replied.

The two said goodbye to Takuya and Tommy and sped away. Takuya also offered a ride home for Tommy and they prepared to leave. As all the warriors headed home none of them were aware of a pair of eyes glaring at them with hate. The dark man watched each one of them leave from his place on a nearby roof.

" _The warriors are doing well in defeating my pathetic servants,"_ he thought to himself with a cocky smile, _"I admit I'm a bit impressed. I'll just continue to keep a close eye on them for now to make sure they don't get in my way,"_ he took out a cylinder looking device from his pocket and pressed the button on it. A beam shot out from the device and created a portal to the Digital World. He placed the device back in his pocket and entered the other realm.

* * *

 

In the lab, Hiroshi noticed the brief appearance of the portal before it disappeared. His alarm didn't go off however signaling that a rogue Digimon has entered our world. Hiroshi was both puzzled and disturbed by this instance but decided not to worry the warriors about it. At least not just yet. He went downstairs to his basement to put some old files away. While down there his eyes fixated on one of his old inventions from his younger years of Digital World research. With a heavy sigh he walked back upstairs, turning his back on the blanket and dust-covered metal archway.


	7. Power Surge

_Chapter 6: Power Surge_

"So, what's this thing supposed to do?" J.P asked while fiddling around with the small device in his hand. It was the late afternoon as J.P and Kouichi were heading toward the professor's lab. Kouichi had asked J.P for his help in trying to fix one of Hiroshi's dysfunctional inventions since he was good with electronics and machines.

"It's supposed to be able to track down and guide us towards an open Digital portal," Kouichi replied. He was driving while J.P sat in the passenger's seat, "but it seems as though that's not gonna happen anytime soon. It is just a prototype after all."

"Even for a prototype," J.P continued, "this is beyond dysfunctional," he continued to mess with the device in his hand. He had it open, revealing the complexity of wires and advanced computer tech inside. J.P started to chuckle slightly, "The old man spends years decoding the Digital World's data, being able to track info on rogue Digimon and portals and yet can't figure out something like this. Talk about selective intellect," he finished, closing the device and shoving it back in his jacket pocket.

"Well that's why I called you for help with this," Kouichi said as they arrived at the professor's lab, "you're supposedly an expert with machines."

"That's only if I have the proper equipment," J.P rebutted.

Kouichi chuckled softly at his friend, "Come on, there's some stuff you can use inside," The two made their way into the building. As they entered the lab they were greeted by the professor, however he was not alone. Hiroshi was sitting across from younger looking gentleman and they appeared to be talking. Hiroshi then noticed the teens standing at the doorway.

"Ah! Kouichi, J.P good to see you two," Hiroshi stood to greet them.

"Hello sir," J.P said, "we're not interrupting anything, are we?"

"Not at all," Hiroshi replied. The other man then stood to face the three.

"Are these two your new assistants?" the man said in a joking manner.

"In a way, yes," Hiroshi replied to the man, "but they're actually friends of my granddaughter. Oh, boys this is my old colleague Solomon Nishihara."

"A pleasure to meet you two. I'm guessing you both are also interested in Hiroshi's research," Solomon said with a pleasant smile. He looked roughly in his mid-forties with shaggy grayish-black hair that had just a few streaks of grey that showed his aged. He could still be described as a very handsome man by most. He was at least 5'11" and had a muscular physique and broad shoulders. His face was well chiseled and he had deep sunken in brown eyes that were slightly covered from the strands of hair that fell down his forehead. He extended his arm out to shake hands with two.

"Nice to meet you too," J.P took the man's hand in his own, "I'm J.P and the quiet one is Kouichi," he finished pointing toward his friend next to him. Kouichi still remained silent as he continued his intense gaze on the man. He couldn't figure out why but something about him just didn't seem right. Solomon extended his hand towards him with a friendly "hello" and Kouichi, though hesitant at first, took it in his own.

"So you're an old colleague of professor Suzumara?" Kouichi asked releasing the man's hand but still not removing his gaze.

Solomon softly chuckled then spoke, "Yeah, it would appear I also got intrigued by Hiroshi's study of this Digital World."

"Did you aid him in his research?" J.P questioned.

"Hiroshi had already accomplished some of his research before I began assisting him, but yes. Although," he continued scratching his head, almost in embarrassment, "I will admit that I was a bit skeptical at first. However, after looking over his research and findings I soon became more fascinated by this other world and offered all the help I could give to the rest of the research."

"How come we haven't met till just now?" Kouichi asked in a more serious tone. J.P shot a glance toward his friend, wondering why he acting the way he was.

Kouichi's tone didn't even faze Solomon as he kept his calm sounding voice as he spoke, "Well I'm sort of retired from the matter. After Hiroshi and I were fired from our last jobs,"

"Fired?" J.P interrupted.

Hiroshi slightly nodded his head, "Solomon and I both presented our theories and research to the science community. But we were immediately rejected and our claims were written off as ridiculous nonsense," while Hiroshi kept his calm face, Solomon's had the slight look of agitation at the memory. "Afterwards, Solomon and I went our separate ways to live out normal lives."

"I did continue a bit more research," Solomon added, his face still wearing a frown, but it quickly changed to a smile, "but I highly doubt it's ever gotten as far as your own sir. Considering how this place turned out," he finished humorously doing a quick look around the room. "When I heard all the reports on all these monsters wreaking havoc, I decided to come see you again."

"So then you must know about the portals that have been appearing randomly and about the Legendary Warriors," J.P inquired.

"The portals, yes, I figured that was the reason for the Digimon appearing in our world. Although I don't know anything about these…what did you call them? Legendary Warriors?" he replied with a raised brow.

"They're a group ancient heroes from the Digital World. Though that's about all we really know about them. We don't even know if they are real or not," Hiroshi stated matter-of-factly to his former assistant. Solomon responded with a slight nod and a quiet "oh" to the statement. Hiroshi then shot a glance to the two teens. They understood it in saying that Solomon wasn't informed about their connection to the warriors.

"Well then let's hope they are real. Maybe they can stop whatever is causing all of this," Solomon said with grin.

"Yeah, maybe," Kouichi said quietly.

"Anyway," Hiroshi said towards the two boys, "I really am glad that you two are here. Solomon and I were actually discussing the portals before you arrived."

"About?" J.P asked.

"Well I came here when I saw the reports of the Digimon appearing, as I already told you," Solomon started, "While we were discussing the matter, I proposed a theory as to whom could be responsible. I figured since you needed vast amounts of energy and technological knowledge in order to pull such a thing off, I suggested to Hiroshi that someone from our old research center might be involved."

"You mean someone could have stolen the professor's research and used it for his own plans?" Kouichi question becoming intrigued by the sudden hypothesis.

"It is possible. Though I took my findings with me when the company let me go, there is always a slight chance that someone replicated my work or even used the company's high-tech to create a portal on their own," Hiroshi concluded.

"Then why don't you and Solomon go investigate your old offices?" Kouichi questioned further.

"I would help but," Solomon started lowering his head a bit, "I wasn't exactly the most cheerful person when my theories were mocked. I once accidentally lost control of myself and tried to fight with one of my superiors. So I don't think it wise to show my face there again," he finished rubbing his neck with embarrassment.

"Understandable," Hiroshi said with a low laugh, "I was hoping you two would be willing to come along with me to help investigate."

"Of course sir, we'd be more than happy to," J.P said with a smile. Kouichi also gave a slight nod in agreement.

"Excellent," Solomon said, "Well then I think I'll just leave you three to it. Good to see you again, sir," Solomon bowed slightly in respect to Hiroshi.

"Same to you Solomon," Hiroshi also gave a slight bow of the head to his friend.

"I do hope that we'll meet again in the future boys," Solomon said turning towards J.P and Kouichi.

"Nice to meet you, sir," J.P said and Kouichi merely gave the man a slight smirk. Kouichi's and Solomon's eyes locked for a brief second before Solomon continued to the door. Kouichi's eyes never left him as he walked out of the room and only narrowed when he was out of sight.

"Let's get ready to go," Hiroshi stated

"Yeah," Kouichi replied. He then felt J.P hand touch his shoulder.

"What's up you," J.P said quietly making sure Hiroshi couldn't hear the conversation, "you were acting a little strange around that guy."

"I don't know," Kouichi responded with a sigh, "there was just something about him that didn't quite settle with me. I'm not sure if I really trust him yet."

"You're just like your brother in that way," J.P said in an amused tone.

Kouichi snorted at the comment, "please, don't compare us like that." J.P let out a small laugh and then the two followed Hiroshi to his car. The three then headed off towards the research facility.

The three arrived at the research center within an hour. Hiroshi was welcomed back at soon as he walked up to the front desk.

"Mr. Suzumara," the elderly women said with surprise in her voice, "it's been a while since I've seen you here."

"Yes, well I came back hoping to give these two young men a little glimpse in the field of data research," Hiroshi replied with a smile, motioning his hands toward J.P and Kouichi.

"Oh, really," the women smiled warmly at the teens.

"Yes," Kouichi said back to her with his own kind smile, "we researching for a school project and Mr. Suzumara here agreed to show us around since he used to be employed here."

"All we require is a couple of passes for these two," Hiroshi implied. The woman complied and filled out the necessary forms for the three. They then started heading towards Hiroshi's old office. When they arrived, they were greeted by a very large and spacious room.

"I have to say this is a pretty sweet office you have here," J.P said looking around the room.

"Yes, the accommodations were nice," Hiroshi stated dryly walking towards the computer on the desk. He stared at the blank screen for a moment before speaking again, "Brings me back to when I first began my studies. To think one stray packet of data could lead me to so much," he smiled at the memory.

"I really do hate to bring you out of your memories, professor," Kouichi said smiling sincerely at the old man, "but we did come here for a reason."

"I know, you're right," the old man replied back, "now, let's see here," Hiroshi started punching in codes to the computer. He looked like a master hacker as he easily was able to gain access to some of the company's and other researcher's files.

* * *

A security guard was patrolling the hallways as usual when he heard a strange noise coming from behind a closed door. The door itself led down to the basement/generator room. He opened the door and headed down. When he reached the end he pulled out his flashlight and began to search the room.

"This area is only open to authorized staff," the guard stated loudly. There was no reply. "Identify yourself now!" he demanded. Again silence.

He then whipped his head to the side when he saw a bright light out of the corner of his eye. He put away his flashlight and pulled out his gun. Cautiously he made his way towards the flash, taking cover behind a maintenance shelf when he got closer. With his gun still in hand, he waited until the light died down and then after letting out a heavy sigh rounded the corner and pointed his gun straight out. He was shocked to see that there was nothing there. Still gripping his gun, he surveyed the surrounding area. Then he felt his entire body tense up as he felt a warm breath huffing on the back of his neck accompanied by the sounds of ferocious snarling. Trembling, the guard slowly turned his head to look behind him. He was breathing heavily as he soon came face to face with a ferocious bear-like creature. The man let out a terrified scream as the beast attacked.

* * *

 

The three sat in silence. For the past half hour they had been waiting for Hiroshi to find anything involving the Digimon.

"Still nothing?" J.P finally said after a while.

"Not that I see," Hiroshi replied to the teen, "as far as I can tell, none of my previous research here has been copied nor are any other files that give any hint of anything that would lead towards Digital World transport."

"So this was a giant waste of time," J.P said shaking his head.

"Maybe, still there is the possibility of someone who has copied your research but just decided to take it and work with it in a more private location. That way they wouldn't be tracked," Kouichi hypothesized. Hiroshi leaned back in his chair pondering over the teen's words. He didn't have time to add to the thought as suddenly all the lights in the building went out at once.

"A black out?" Kouichi wondered.

"Impossible," Hiroshi stated in shock, "this building is powered by its own generators. There shouldn't be any reason for it."

J.P and Kouichi shots concerned looks at each other then J.P spoke, "Something's not right. I'm gonna go check it out."

"I'm coming too. Professor you stay here," Kouichi added and the two headed out into the hall. The building was quite large so they decided to split up and search. It wasn't long before J.P came across the open door that led to the basement. His attention was first drawn to the door itself as his eyes widened at the sight of claw marks engraved in the steel. He gulped and then made his way down the stairs. The room was dark so he let his eyes adjust before continuing his search. He saw that one the generators was destroyed with huge claw marks that slashed completely thru them. He continued to search and saw a man lying unconscious next to a wall. J.P ran towards the man. He saw that he was a security guard and then saw the trickle of blood that flowed from his forehead.

"Dammit," J.P said as he hoisted the man up on his back, "I'll take a wild guess and say a Digital portal opened up here." He started to make his way back towards the stairs still carrying the wounded guard to get him some help. "I sure hope Kouichi is faring better," he said between grunts.

* * *

 

Kouichi was still exploring the hallways of the building, doing his best to stay out of sight. Being the former warrior of darkness, he wasn't really affected by the lack of light and was easily able to maneuver swiftly thru the halls. He then stopped dead in his tracks. Much like his brother's sharp senses, Kouichi also had some sort of sixth sense as he detected a fierce presence nearby. Pressing his back up against a nearby wall he carefully moved his head to look around the corner. His heart nearly stopped as he saw a giant dark blue grizzly bear in the center of the hallway. Grizzlymon was sniffing the air trying to locate his prey. He then started to turn and Kouichi whipped his head back around the corner out of view. He then heard the Digimon's snarls starting to get closer. Feeling the wall behind him, he felt a doorknob. Looking behind him he saw that he was standing in front of a janitor's closet. Quietly he opened the door and sneaked inside closing the door as he entered. He kept it opened just a crack to look into the hallway. His heart was pounding as he saw that Grizzlymon was just outside the door. The beast continued sniffing the air and Kouichi shut his eyes as tight as he could ignoring the sound of his beating heart that filled his ears and the feeling of never-ending beads of sweat that were rolling down his face and neck. After a while of standing outside the door, Kouichi heard the sounds of Grizzlymon's footsteps leave the area. Kouichi released the breath he was holding in and began panting heavily. His hand came in contact with a broom behind him. He grabbed it and removed the brush end so that he was left with a long wooden stick.

" _It's not quite the same as Loewemon's lance,"_ he thought to himself as his grip tightened, _"but it'll have to do."_

Kouichi exited out of his hiding and cautiously made it into the hallway. What he didn't know is that Grizzlymon was waiting for him. As soon as Kouichi passed by the other hallway Grizzlymon appeared from behind the corner and began to stalk him from behind. Grizzlymon got closer and closer until he was right behind him. As he lifted his claw ready to strike down his prey, Kouichi's fighter instincts kicked in and he took his wooden staff and in one move collided it with the side of Grizzlymon's head knocking him away from the force of the blow. Kouichi immediately bolted down the hall away from the beast, but Grizzlymon soon chased after him. Kouichi glanced back for a second to see the bloodthirsty bear chasing him. He quickly made a sharp turned an entered an empty conference room. Grizzlymon nearly slid past it but followed after him. The bear entered the room licking his chops hungrily.

"Good Digimon," Kouichi said over the beast's growls, "can't we discuss this?" Grizzlymon didn't even acknowledge his words and lifted his claw to slash the boy. Kouichi was able to dodge the attack. "Yeah, didn't think that would work," he retorted continuing to dodge attacks. He rolled under a table to dodge again and lifted to table with all his strength and slammed it into Grizzlymon knocking him down successfully. Kouichi then ran out of the room before the bear could get up. He closed the door to the room trapping the Digimon inside. He knew it wouldn't last as he felt the pounding of the Digimon against the door trying to break the door down. Again he bolted back towards the room where Hiroshi was waiting.

Hiroshi was genuinely surprised when an exhausted Kouichi appeared in the doorway of his old office. "Kouichi! What happened?!" he asked running up to boy trying to hold him up.

"There's a vicious Digimon in the building. I barely got away," he replied trying to catch his breath, "have you tried to contact the others?"

"There no cell signal anywhere in the building," Hiroshi said shaking his head.

"Shit," Kouichi said in a quiet breath, "Alright, let's just find J.P and get out of here." Hiroshi agreed and they left the room.

J.P was making his way thru the halls still carrying the wounded guard on his back. He felt out of breath. Then the sounds of snarls reached his ears. He looked up to see Grizzlymon appear from another hallway. The beast saw him and the two stared at each other. Grizzlymon started making his way towards the boy and J.P started stepping back slowly. He knew he couldn't possibly get away fast enough while he still carried the guard. It looked like this was the end for him.

"J.P!" Grizzlymon turned his head in the direction of the yell only to be greeted by Kouichi's wooden stick hitting him hard on the side of his head. J.P had never been so happy to see him in all the time that he has known him. Hiroshi rushed to J.P's side helping him lift the guard off his back and propping him up against a wall. Kouichi took a fighter stance against the bear and began swinging his staff at him, landing a few successful strikes. Grizzlymon finally had enough and grabbed the staff in his mouth after another swing. He swung Kouichi to the floor breaking the staff in half with his teeth. He then pressed his weight on Kouichi's chest and his claws began digging into his flesh as Kouichi screamed in pain. J.P saw this and tackled Grizzlymon off his friend sending them both rolling down the hallway floor a ways.

J.P got up first and began taunting the bear, "Hey why don't you come after me. I've got more meat on my bones," he finished and then started running down the hall. He once again came across the door to the basement. He ran down the stairs with Grizzlymon not far behind. As J.P reach the bottom of the stairwell, Grizzlymon came up from behind and head butted him hard against his back sending him flying up and on one of the generators and tumbling over it landing on the other side. He coughed up a little blood while trying desperately to stand but winding up just leaning up against the generator. Sparks of electricity came out of the now busted generator. He heard Grizzlymon slowly approaching his location as though he was just enjoying the feeling of toying with his prey. _"Think! Think"_ he thought to himself frantically, _"There has to be some way out of this. I can't die here! I won't die!"_ he then noticed a small source of light coming out of the pocket of his jacket. He reached in and pulled the device he was toying with earlier today. Then the light around the machine began to glow brighter and the form became that of his familiar yellow and blue D-Tector. A smiled formed on his face. "Looks like I'm not dying today after all," he said to himself and then scanned the data around his hand.

"SPIRIT SYNCHRONIZATION"

Grizzlymon saw the bright light appear from behind the generator and stopped in his tracks. Then, after the light disappeared, he saw the generator being lifted off the ground and thrown at sending him back against the wall. Grizzlymon regained his balance and looked at the mighty warrior that now stood in front of him. J.P had regained the spirit of Beetlemon. J.P's muscle had expanded to top physical form and his eyes were now a dark green color. His torso was covered in dark blue and yellow armor and dark blue armor shoulder pads. Both of his arms had large armor gauntlets that extended up his lower arm and he had fingerless glove on which had brass knuckles sewn into the fabric. He was wearing and pair of brown camouflage pants with armor knees pads, each one bore the symbol of thunder, and he was wearing steel toed combat boots. His face wore a simple mask that covered his mouth and nose only and that was strapped securely around his head.

Grizzlymon snarled at his opponent. J.P arched one of his eyebrows at the bear and began taunting him with his hand motioning him to charge at him. Grizzlymon complied and ran towards his opponent. He raised his claw to strike him but J.P dodged and countered with a punch to his face. Grizzlymon remained standing on his two hind legs and landed a blow back at the warrior. Back and forth the two swapped blows like two boxers fighting a match. In one attack they both hit each other at the same time sending them both back a bit. Grizzlymon roared at the warrior and J.P narrowed his eyes back at him.

"Let's finish this," he said thru his mask and began charging electrical energy in his clenched fist. Grizzlymon charged at him in full speed. J.P remained perfectly still as the beast came at him and continued channeling electricity into his punch. As soon as Grizzlymon reached him, J.P performed a clean uppercut to the bear's jaw and was sent flying backwards landing on the ground still twitching from the electrical surge given off from the punch. His data stream appeared around him and J.P absorbed it then returned to his regular form. J.P bent over slightly and placed his hands on his knees. He was panting heavily and sweat dripped from his face onto the floor. But after all that happened, his face formed a smile as he looked down at his D-Tector.

* * *

 

J.P stumbled out the building, making sure he wasn't seen by the cops that had arrived. He then saw Kouichi being treated for his wounds by a paramedic. He quickly made it over to him and Hiroshi, who was standing over him, was the first to notice J.P's appearance.

"You alright, J.P?" he asked the young man.

"Yeah, don't worry," J.P replied, "what about you Kouichi?"

Kouichi looked up at his friend and smiled. "Just fine," he said gripping his bandaged shoulder a bit, "What happened to Grizzlymon?"

J.P snorted triumphantly, "He had the pleasure of getting his ass kicked by the warrior of thunder."

"So you got your spirit back. That's good," Hiroshi said with a smile.

"But I feel bad that we didn't find anything on the Digital portals or about who's behind it all," J.P said in a more serious tone, turning to face the old man.

"No we didn't," Hiroshi stated dryly, "but that just means we'll have to just continue with our investigation."

The two teens agreed and Kouichi stood up, "I say we head home. I don't know about you two but I'm exhausted," he stated while rubbing his injured shoulder.

"I agree, let's get out of here," J.P added

Hiroshi also nodded in agreement and the three headed back towards Hiroshi's car. They were no closer to discovering who was behind this whole mess, but it wouldn't deter them in any way.


End file.
